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A particular and accurate Account of the Temperature of the Air, the
different Soils, Waters, Vegetables, Metals, Minerals, Stones, .Beafts,
Birds, and Fifhes; together with the Difpofitions, Cuftoms, and
Manner of Living of the Inhabitants: Interfperfed with Phyfiological
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of Sciences at CopENHAGEN.,

Illuftrated with Copper Pirates, and a General Map of Nor way.

ROO i. a:

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(iii)

The AurHor’s PREFACE,

HE chief defign of this preface is, to lay before the reader
| my motives for attempting a Natural Hiftory of Norway,
_ together with the opportunities and encouragements which have
concurred towards the accomplifhment of my defign; as fuch
information may, in fome refpedts, be neceflary in the perufal of
the work. |
7 My principal motive-was, to promote the glory of the Creator,
by a contemplation of his works. In the inftrudiive book of
nature are many leaves, which, hitherto, no mortal has thoroughly
perufed; though the prefent times are bleft with the happy ad-
vantage of all the important difcoveries made in natural philofo-
phy, fince the commencement of this century, which are fupe+—
rior in number and merit to thofe of many preceding ages. Thefe
have been chiefly promoted by the learned Societies now flourifh=
ing in almoft every country in Europe, who have liberally en-
couraged, directed, and excited enquiries into nature, and by the
deriodical publications of obfervations, objections, and experi-
ments, have communicated to the world fuch important truths,
as refulted from them. . :

*

It is not my prefent purpofe to enquire, how thefe difcoveries
have been applied to various ends by perfons of different
opinions ; I fhall only obferve, that devout men have taken
eccafion from them to exprefs, in the fulnefs of their hearts,
their faith and love to the great Creator, by applying their
natural knowledge, to the fupport and illuftration of this
greatett of all truths, * There muft be a God; and he muft be
almighty, omnifcient, and infinite in goodnefs ; and though he

dwells

iV

The AU THOR’s PREFACE.

dwells in a light inacceflible to any mortal eye, yet our faculties
fee and diftinguifh him clearly in his works”, In this refpe& L
have the moft profound veneration for a Boyle, a Nieuventyt, a
Fenelon, a Scheuchzer, a Derham, and the like great and ex-
cellent perfonages; who having been no lef confpicuous in the
fandtity of their lives, than in their mental abilities, will doubtlefs
find a place among thofe, or in preference to many of thofe, to
whom the prophet Daniel promifes a more exalted oo of
glory. .

‘It is true, that the rational part of the heathen world were not
unacquainted with the firft principles of natural religion, and
confequently thefe are of themfelves infufficient for the immediate
and perfe& converfion of finners, or the attainment of any de-
eree of that falvation referved for the members of Chrift’s my
tical body, who live in a more fhining-light, and have more
abundant offers of grace. But it is equally true, as the Apoftle
affirms, he that cometh to God, muft firft believe that he is, and
that he is a rewarder of thofe who ‘diligently feck him. A general
belief in God, as the creator and preferver, as the rewarder and
avenger, muft be prefuppofed, before any faith in the Son of
God, the Redeemer, can take place ; confequently the firft is the
bafis of the other articles, and though a minifter of the Gofpel is
not to be lightly carried away by the ftream, or ought not to
follow the crowd of mere philofophic moralifts, who purfue vain

glory in {cience, falfly fo called, and in contradiction to the mind

and example of St. Paul, are almoft afbamed of the gofpel of Chrift,
which alone is and will continue to be the power of Gad unto falva-
tion; yet it becomes them as little to deviate on the other
hand, into a difregard and contempt of natural truths, and of the
occafion which they may draw from them, of promoting the
glory of God, among many w ‘hofe tafte and capacity reach no fur-
ther than fenfible objeéts: and not having been found faithful,
even in thefe leffer matters, are not therefore intrufted with

greater. If, as our Saviour fays, we believe not what is faid to

= “as

The AUTHOR’s PREFACE.
us of earthly things, bow foall we believe when be Moai? to us of
heavenly things?

J am therefore inclined to » think, that neither I nor my bre-
thren tranfgyefs the bounds of our minifterial office, by invefti-
gating and exhibiting natural, truths concerning the works of
God, ‘which, ‘like his word, are Jehova’s. I am rather of opinion,
that a fupercilious neglect of fuch truths, in this critical age, is
one of the. caufes of that contempt, with which the Freethinkers,
as they arrogantly ftile themfelves, look on the minifterial func- -
tion.

If phyfical knowlege be not, like godlinels, profitable to all
things, yet itis fo to many; and in a certain degree to moft
things.: A civilian, inorder to a juft {olution of a point in law,
muft previoufly have a competent intelligence of the fa@;.* and
this is not always to be had: from a formal depofition, which is
frequently contradicted by others of equal authority; but in many,
cafes, hemay be confiderably affifted by a perfe& infight into
the connexions of nature, which will teach him to reject impofli-
bilities, which others would obtrude upon. him for certainties,
and not to: attribute to any caufe, however plaufibly alledged,
what may much more reafonably be fappofed the effed: of fome
other caufe, though unknown.

~The utility, I fhould fay the abfolute neceflity of this {cience
to sratisilicine needs no’ tedious proof, the alliance between natural
philofophy and medicine being univerfally: known, and the whole
materia medica being properly res phyfica. This is fufficiently
confirmed by our eminent phyficians, Wormius, Bartholin, and
Borrichius, who were alfo confummate naturalifts. But my more
immediate aim, is to reprefent the advantages of natural _know-
lege to thofe who apply themfelves to theological ftudies, with a
view of direéting others in the way to falvation. The firft know-
lege requifite in them, is the knowlege of human nature; for
- grace and nature are the two great objects, which it is incumbent

~ * See an ingenious piece in the Hamburg magazine, under. the title of Arguments
on the ufefulnefs of natural philofophy in the ftudy of the law, Vol. rv. p. 27.
b |

_ Parr I, upon

Vi

The AU THOR’s PREFACE:

upon them to diftingwifh on all oceafions, when they undertake

a cure of fouls. In the next place, they muft learn to know-God -

from his other great works, which proclaim his being, and attri-
butes, as well as from his wife and tender ceconomy in the go-
vernment of all his creatures. If they fhould prove unacquainted

with this branch of knowlege, then they are more ignorant than.

even the heathens, according to the teftimony of St. Paul himdelf,
which is accomplifhed by the writings of Pagans. _How admira-
bly among others *, Derham, and. Nieuwentyt. +, have applied
natural philofophy to an unanfwerable confirmation of revealed
truths, is well known to’ thofe who have perufed their excellent
works with attention, and have from fuch perufal, either acquired
their firft belief and love of God, or found. thofe religious habits

greatly ftrengthened and animated. Moreover, a religious man,

whofe profeffion turns his attention to other fecular {ciences, muft
confefs,; that the delight of natural enquiries is greatly heightened
to him, by an advantage which at firft he did not expeé, by the
confirmation of his belief, and thus he is encouraged to purfue

his refearches, by the repeated fatisfa&tion with which. they are |

attended: . Not to mention the occafion which a naturalift may
take from his fcience, to remind himfelf and others of their duty
towards God and their neighbour, and this agreeably to the me-
thod of the prophets, and the example of the great prophet Jefus
himfelf, who referred thofe. who are intemperately ‘ollicitous
about worldly. things,. to the fowls of the air, and the lillies of
the field; the difobedient to the oxen, and afies, which know
their mafter; the flothful to the induftrious pattern of the ant;

* Particularly in his phyfico theology, or a demonftration of the being and attri-
butes of God, from the works of creation, being the fubftance of fixteen fermons
preached at the leétures founded by the honourable Robert Boyle.

+ In that learned and devout work, the religious philofopher, or a right ufe of the
ftudy of nature to the conviction of atheifts and infidels. ‘This conviction fhould be
an efpecial incentive to further refearches; as, without the leaft hypocrify, I can fay of
myfelf, that the yoosde 72 Oz the knowlege of the eternal, invifible Being, who is the
{cope and fpirit of all the truths delivered by the prophets and apoftles, and the vets
dures ave modoyares, bY which others alfo may be gained, not only irrefiftibly drew me
into the ftudy of natural hiftory, but fweetens all the. labours. with which it feems to
be attended, and enlivens the converfation of perfons of the fame tafte, Henkels Pyri-
lologie, or hiftory of fire, Cap. v- p. 300. |

| and

}

The AU THOR’s' PR EFA CE.

and the negligent to the bird which knoweth its feafon. Thus
the works of God ferve for a bafis and confirmation of natural
theology, even as revealed truths are grounded in his word; and
this hath induced fome able men of our times to follow Derham’s
excellent plan, whofe phyfics, and aftro-theology were no fooner
publifhed, than others adopted the fyftem; every one was ftirred
up to apply his particular knowlege to the difcuffion of fome
point of natural hiftory, and exhibit fuch an account of it, as
fhould tend moft to fpread the knowlege and glory of the Crea-
tor. Thefe endeavours by no means deferve to be confidered as
unneceflary or fuperfluous, for all who are defirous of a more
intimate acquaintance with the works of God, as arguments of
his exiftence and attribues, have no time, or opportunity for that
circumftantial examination of every part, which hath been under-
taken and executed by Fabricius, in his pyro- and hydro-theo-
logy; Alvard, in his bronto-theology ; Zornius, in his pitano-theo-
logy; Rathleff, in his acrido-theology; Leffer, in his litho- and
teftaceo-theology, &c. | )

I heartily join with the celebrated Linnzus * in withing, that
even thofe gentlemen in the univerfities, who are not peculiarly
deftined to phyfic, or the like, but to the ftudy and promulgation
of the word of God, “in fome miniftcrial office, were directed to
apply fuch a part of their academic years to phyfics, as may equal,
if not exceed the time {pent in metaphyfics, and logic, thefe laft
not being fo indifpenfably neceflary and ufeful as the former,
efpecially to thofe who are called to attend a country parih.
Here their natural knowlege will not only farnith them with many
clear arguments, and edifying reflexions to themfelves and their

_* Monfieur Linnzeus commence par une harangue, que lui die la vivacité de fon
inclination, pour I’ hiftoire naturelle. Il s’attache a la felicité des peuples, dés qu’elle
a été portée a un certain degré de perfection. II] s’addreffe aux puiffances, et les fu; a
plie d’introduire une fcience auffi utile dans les univerfités. On y enfeigne la lo p
que, la metaphyfique et d’autres fciences de theorie, dont lutilité eft Siac iapice
eloigneé du bien public, pendant qu’on ne devroit pas negliger |’ hiftoire naturelle qui
enrichit une nation, parce quelle lui fait connoitre fes richeffes. Il fouhaiteroit gan
tout que les jeunes gens, qui fe deftinent A la vie eccléfiaftique, -puffent fe procurer
une teinture de cette aimable fcience. Elle leur adouciroit la folitude de la cam aone
et elle leur feroit. faire des découvertes, que les favans des villes ne font pas a ae 4
de faire, Biblioth. Raifonnée, Tom. xxxviir. p. 15. ‘ Re

hearers,

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Vil

Vili

Th AUTHORs PREFAC®E

hearers, of which we have inftances in many religious books of
that kind; but it will befides prove a liberal amufement in their
folitude; it will enable them, by much greater opportunities than
the learned enjoy in towns, to make ufeful difcoveries or improve~
ments, from the produéts of nature, to the lafting benefit of their

_ country, which it is their duty to promote. TI fhall mention only

one thing, which here in Norway might be of the greateft im-
portance, I mean fuch {kill in metallurgy, as to know the {pecies
of ores and minerals, to make little experiments by fufion, and
thus to form a judgment of the intrinfic value of a mine, and
how far it will anfwer the expence of opening. He who is pof-
feffed of fuperior knowlege and penetration, may in this country,
ever meet with many latent things, which might long fince have
occafioned much thought and reflexion, had they been exhibited
earlier to public view and examination. | ,

This leads me to my other motive, for attempting a saegeal hif-
tory of Norway, which carried me thro’ it with infinite delight,
though I wanted the materials, the time, and the opportunities

-requifite for an effay of this kind. In the annual. vifitations of

my diocefe, which lead me into every part of this province, and
fometimes form a journey of an hundred-Norway milés, I have
heard authentic accounts of natural things, and fometimes have
feen the originals themfelves, which being unknown to me, put
me upon enquiring whether they were fo to others, or whether
they had a perfect knowlege of them? The latter being feldom
the cafe, it was natural to wifh the improvement of that know-
lege, efpecially as thofe mountainous countries are diftinguifhed
from. others by containing many things, which are met with in

‘ the province of Dauphiné in France. I refer the reader to the

ninth volume of the Memoires de V nen royale des infcrip-
tions et belles lettres, where he will find the following paflage;
‘© Nature has beftowed on every province fome diftinguifhing
advantage, and the curiofities of each country are proportioned to
the number and nature of the alterations it has undergone. Con-

if | fequently,

The-A UTHORs PREFACE.
quently, in provinces full of mountains, rocks, grottos, fubterra-
neous cavities, and minerals, the f{peculative mind is entertained
with many fuch natural phenomena, as are not to be found in
other parts. | | |

This obfervation of M. Lancellot, 46 entirely applicable to.

Norway, and more efpecially to that part where providence has
been pleafed to fettle me, which, according to its name, almoft
wholly confifts of mountains, in which, few parts of Europe can
be compared to it, and: confequently, according to the above ob-
fervation, few contain more remarkable naturalia. Even Norwe-
gians themfelves, who refort hither from the other provinces,
imagine themfelves in a foreign country, not only on account of
the continual high mountains they meet with; but in refpect of
the different and very unwholfom air iffuine from off the fea
and fettling between the mountains, from whence it cannot eafily

be diffipated.

But Norway, confidered in general, in the fingularia nature et

providentie, furpafles moft countries, and not only in its inani-
mate treafures, fuch as metals, minerals, and vegetables, but in
the various kinds of beafts, birds, and fithes; and particularly of
the laft, {carce any parts of the univerfe afford fuch a diverfity
and abundance. But thefe fuperior advantages are not eftimated
as fuch by the inhabitants, who daily enjoy, and therefore are too
apt to difregard them. Foreigners feldom vifit us, unlef they
are feamen and merchants; and thefe have little elle in view, than
the lucre of their profeffions. Northward of us the people are
too unpolifhed to encourage a traveller to take the tour of the
country, which hath been the means of clearing up the natural
hiftory of other countries. :

On this very account it feems the more expedient; that fuch
of our Danifh nobility, and of our literary youth, who travel at
a very great expence to vifit foreign countries, fhould be firft

; obliged to take, at leaft, a half year’s tour through this kingdom
which is fo clofely united with Denmark.

| If the trave
Poet ‘ e tray els. of

thefe

ix

The AUTH OR’ss PREFACE

thefe young gentlemen are faid to be undertaken upon ‘worthy
motives, I hope their principal object is to qualify themfelves the
better for the fervice of their king and country, in thofe publie
employments which at their return they follicit, and to which
they have fome claim. Now if this be their obje@, it is: more
neceffary for them to vifit Norway and Sweden, than all the other
countries of Europe. An acquaintance with the latter (Sweden)
both in refpect to its ftrength and its weaknefs, is unqueftionably
more neceflary to our young ftatefmen, than to be able to decide
which merits the preference, the Rhenifh, Italian, French, or
Spanifh wines. As to the neceflity of an accurate knowlege of
Norway, I believe it muft be immediately manifeft, if not to
others, at leaft, to a Norwegian, when he fees a perfon filling
fome eminent poft either in the ftate, or in the law, with irre-
proachable integrity, who is totally ignorant of the particular cir-
cumftances and properties of Norway, and wherein they totally
differ from thofe of Denmark. ‘Thus the public, contrary to his
intentions, may fufter great detriment, or many things be neg-
le&ed, which would be happily executed, if his public fpirited
views were directed by his own difcernment, which would enable
him without feeing thro’ the eyes of other men, throughly to fift
and examine the grounds and confequences of a matter, which
now becomes doubly difficult, it being not only foreign to him,
but very remote Seite from the purpofe, to which he is medi-+
tating to apply it.

In this refpect, I flatter myfelf, this firft eflay towards a natural
hiftory of Norway, will have its ufe with fome, who never had
an opportunity of perfonally vifiting a country, with which, by
virtue of their office, they are ina greater or lefs degree, perpe-
tually. concerned. :

This work, moreover, with all its impanesiond may ferve to
entich natural hiftory in general with fome particulars, of which,
confummate naturalifts were heretofore the only competent.

: judges, I am very far from defiri ing to vinias or asm marvel-

lous

The AUTHOR’s PREFACE.
lous things, merely to excite the admiration of the reader, On
the contrary, I have endeavoured to rectify the erroneous idea
which many, even among the learned, have, for want of better
information, formed of feveral, in themfelves very wonderful na-
tural phenomena, here in Norway; fuch as a bottomlels {eas
abyfs growing in the Mofkoe-ftrom, penetrating quite thro’ the
globe; of ducks growing on trees; of a water on Sundmoer,
which in a fhort time turns wood into {tone ; and many other
fuch things, which, fome who have had:no opportunity of en=
quiring further, or others who were not difpofed to it, have re-
ceived as undoubted fads. The reader will meet with many
firange, fingular, and unexpected things here, but all of them
firictly true; fome of them not difcovered before, others con-
firmed; and, to the beft of my ability, in fome meafure ac-
counted for, and illuftrated. | | |

Perhaps, Norwegians by birth, to whom the nature of their.
country is better known, may, from their own particular experi-
ence in divers parts, produce fomething more complete and ex-
tenfive. If they fhould be animated thereto by this work of
mine, I fhall account it among the accidental advantages which
may refult from it; and in this cafe, let no one imagine that a
difference of opinion, decently delivered, will give me any offence,
or trouble ; the difcovery of truth, is in this and every other re-

{pe&, my chief end; and I live in an age, which not content
with mere hypothefes, unfupported by proofs, requires that every
fa& or pofition, which is advanced as real, be at leaft demon-
{trated poflible, and confonant to the nature of the things in
queftion.

Phyfics, having never been my chief ftudy *, [am far from the
arrogance of fuppofing, that I have always hit upon the true ori-
ginal caufe, and laid open the connexion of every fubje@; and I
am much farther from the prelumptuous conceit, that I have, in

as mihi homini vehementer occupato ftomachum moveritis, triduo me juris
confultum profitebor. Cicero in Orat, pro Mureena, cap. Xxvuit.

ft every

xi

xu

The AU THOR’ss PREFACE
every particular,) developed the abftrufe meafures, and difcovered
the fecret defioris of ‘the ‘infinite Creator, whofe ways ‘are- paft
finding out. I hold with. Bartholin. “* Officio fuo fatisfecit phy-=

ficus, ubi rationes adduxit probabiles.”. It is not in one refped — .

only that our Saviour’s words:hold' good; the wind bloweth where
it ifteth, and thow heareft the found thereof, but thou Rnowe/t 20t
from whence it cometh nor whither it goeth. And the wife man
does not exaggerate when he fays, we /carce perceive what lies
upon the earth, or feel what is betwixt our hands. However, our
almighty and all-wife Creator cannot be difpleafed at an invefti-
gation of his works, with a pious and refpectful docility, nor at
the praifes we give to his holy name for fo much as falls within
the extent of our faculties; refting aflured, that what is beyond
our reach in this flate of probation, will be explained to us in
that new heaven and new earth which we look for according to
his promife. watt | Ae |
I fhall now, purfuant to my promife, give fome account of the
fources from whence I have drawn what is here. offered to the
public. Thefe are partly writings relating to Norway, partly my
own certain experience, as far as it extended, and partly the ob-
fervations of fome intelligent perfons, communicated to me at my

defire. | |

In chet clafs are our noted hiftorians and chorographers,

efpecially Peter Nicholas Undalin, formerly fuperintendant over
the diftri@ of Lifter, minifter of Undal, in the diocefe of Chriftian-
fand, and a canon of the chapter of Stavenger, who, befides his
tranflation of Snorre Sturlefen’s annals, from the old Norwegian
tongue into modern Danifh, wrote a pofthumous work, publifhed
at Copenhagen, in quarto, in the year 1632, intitled, A True
Defcription of Norway and the adjacent Iflands. Of this piece

Dr. Chriftopher Steinkuhl, in 1685, publifhed a German tranfla- -

tion with additions. It gives a tolerable account of the extent of
every province in general, its fubdivifion, and the names of the
diftri@s and parifhes ; with fome particulars on the nature and

uda~
I .

The- AUT HORs UP RIE FA CE.

qualities of the foil; but thefe ate but few in number, it not hav-
ing been his defigyn to treat exprefsly of them. Mr. Jonas Ramus,

heretofore paftor to the community of Norderhong in Rongerige,

in the diocefe of Aggerhuus, goes further. This writer, befides
many other theological and hiftorical compofitions, has deferved
highly of his country for his Defcription of Norway, publifhed in
quarto, at Copenhagen 1715. It is a chorographical improvement
upon. Updalinus’s work, but having the fame point in view with
that author, he confines himfelf within the fame limits, yet is
fuller‘on the nature and products of the country, adding, parti-
cularly at the clofe, from page 240 to 274, an appendix, enume-

rating the feveral beafts, infects, birds, fifhes, herbs and trees;

This confifts indeed of little more than the bare names of them,
but was of ufe however to me; as it opened.a large field for fur-
ther enquiry. Arendt Berendfen’s Fertility of Denmark and Nor-
way, printed in quarto at Copenhagen, in 1656, is a book which
exhibits a clear account of the different fertility of the refpeétive
provinces, and feveral particulars concerning the products of the
country; but this again proceeds no farther than giving the
names of things *. In fome certain points, Ihave been moft in-
debted to Mr. Lucas Debes’s Feroa Referata, or Defcription of
the Ferro Iflands, publifhed at Copenhagen, in o@avo, 1673.
This gentleman, who was formerly fuperintendent of Ferro, -was,
for the times he lived in, and the opportunities he had, a good
naturalift, and, as the iflands he deferibes, lying parallel to the
weftern coalts of Norway, have fome analogy with them, efpecially
on account of the fea-fifh and water-fowls, his obfervations were
of greater afliftance to me than any other work. I have likewife
gleaned fome good materials from diftin® treatifes on fingle fub-
jects, fuch as Wormius’s Tractatus ‘de mure Norvegico, Dethar-
dingii Diff. de vermibus in Norvegia qui novi vifi, Gartner’s Hor-

* The Norrigra Illuftrata of Jens Lauridfen Wolf, hardly. deferves to be ranked

among the chorographies of the country, it containing little.of any. importance but
what is hiftorical. i

Parr I. d | ticul-

Xu

XIV

The AU THO Rs PREFACE,

ticultwras Norvegica, ‘Lochftor’s Diff. de Medicamentis Norvegie
fufficientibus, Daffe’s Defcription of Nordland, &e., - rr

The lofs of the manufcript hiftory of the beafts of Norway,
by the above-mentioned Mr. Peter Nicholas Undal, is exceedingly
to be lamented ; it happened in’ this’ manner: The author had
tranfmitted his work to his intimate friend Dr. Worm, that be-
fore it was committed to the prefs, it might undergo the revifal
of that confummate naturalift +. With him it remained till his
death, when it-fell into the hands of Dr. Thomas Bartholin, who
carried it to his feat at Hagefted in Silland, where, together with

-miany other valuable books and manufcripts, it was unfortunately

burnt. Undal, page 83 of his Chorography, mentions another
book, called Speculum Regale, ‘to which he appeals for what is
faid concerning a hazle ftick being petrified in Birkedal morafs,
in’ Sundmoer, from whence I conclude, this book muft have
turned upon natural hiftory ; but as- probably it was likewife a
manufcript, it was a great pity that the public was not benefited
by ‘it, before it was loft, as is unqueftionably the cafe. But a
Gteater calamity to the literary world, was the conflagration
which happened 1734, in the city of Chriftianfand, which de-
ftroyed that invaluable affortment of colleGtions for a ‘natural hif.
tory of Norway, in which Mr. Jens Spidberg, an ecclefiaftic of
great eminence there, had with indefatigable application {pent
many years: He*was a man confummately accomplithed for fo
éreat an undertaking, as appearsifrom the other monuments ex-
tant of his genius, which difplay a fingular penetration and judg~
ment, with an infinite compafs of learning, efpecially in phyfics
and mathematics. I thall here quote a paflage from a letter, with
which he favoured me, dated Dec. 10, 1750, concerning | his
defien, which he relinquifhed after ‘the unfortunate lofs of his
manufcripts and library. I fhould not have troubled the reader
, 4. This, however, from the following mention made of it, by the faid Mr. Worm,

does not appear to have been a comprehenfive or finifhed work : Petri Undalini frag
menta hiftorize animalium Norv. MSS. que penes me funt. Tr. de Mure Norveg,

page 3. ,
P: swith

The AUTHOR’sO PREF A CE.
with this extra@, but it contains fome things relative to my pre-
bfentigatpofesivitir Wty to oiins ork s ay

‘It is to be lamented that hitherto no perfon has ventured to
undertake a natural hiftory of Norway; for I am perfuaded that
‘no country in the univerfe affords more curiofities and wonders,

out of the three kingdoms, of nature, than this; and confe-

quently, there 1s not a fubject more fit for the pen of a naturalift.

Had M. Maupertius gone as far as to Wardehuus, or to the north-

‘cape, and there made his difpofitions for taking the fgure of the
earth, his calculations would have been attended with lefs difficulty,
and more certitude than at Tornea. Had M. de Mairan taken care
‘to procure from Norway, fome accurate obfervations on the Aurora
Borealis, his valuable. Traité Phyfique de l Aurore Boreale, had
een much more complete and decifive; for the north light takes
its rife from Norway, and particularly from the diocefe of Dront-
} heim. Confiderable additions might have been made to Redi,
-Swammerdam, and even to M, Reaummur’s Memoires des indectes,
had they had the advantage of a communicative, and oblerving
correfpondent in Norway, where are feveral tribes unknown cither
in Italy, Holland, or France. Linnzus, by his obfervations in
Sweden, has enriched botany more than Tournefort, by all the
remarks he made in France, or in his travels to. the lena |
need only mention the article of metallurgy, in which N orway
furpafies all other countries, producing all kinds of minerals and
metals, from gold, to fulphur and lead. In like manner I pafs
over the numberlefs beafts, birds, and fithes peculiar to N. orway ;
the rivers, hot fprings, meteors, and the {everal alterations of
‘airy &c, but alas! all thefe things, fuch is the incogitancy and
lua of es er are ftill almoft. unknown 3 at-deaft, J
_ have not yet heara- 3 XU 7
tempted te place ah Riis’ i oe ih a pe acd
to whom ae owe a <i eal a Ae : ii splice atti
hiftory of Norway, had, awe Ae we if vie. He ip am
but it being fent to Copenhac 3 fe oon ee ‘a a (aa pitting,

pepnagen tor approbation, was ffupprefled,

or

ykV

XV1

The AUTHOR’s PREF A CO E..

or at leaft not publifhed; though a phyfical treatife written! £30
years ago, would little fute the tafte of thefe more enlightened
times. The great Wormius in his Mufeum, and Tho. Bartholin
in his a@ta medica, and hiftorica anatom., rariora, have, I know,
introduced fome of the curiofities of Norway, but their accounts
are defective. Jonas Ramus was diftinguifhed by a knowlege of
the hiftory and antiquities of his country, but was not eminent as
a naturalift. About five or fix years ago, Count Reufs, who was
then governor here, ordered all the litterati in thefe parts to fend
in ai account of every particular in their refpe@tive countries which
might contribute to the melioration of the foil, or the i improve-
ment of agriculture. Some fuch memorials were delivered i in; but
of what ufe they were, or whether any meafures’were taken in
confequence of them, I have not heard. It may be prefumed that
the like orders were iffued in the other diocefes. Mathematics,
and natural philofophy have always been my favourite ftudies,
and in my late library I was poflefled of moft and the beft phy-
fical writings publithed i in Italy, France, Germany, and Eneland.

It was Scheuchzer’s Natural Hiftory of Switzerland, that firft in- —
duced me to undertake a work of the fame kind on N orway 5
and I had an opportunity of perfonally making the beft colle@ions
and obfervations for that purpofe, being ordered by baron Low-

~ endahl, who commanded in chief in Norway during the laft war,

to draw a map of the country, one frontiers betwixt Norway and
Sweden; a copy of which, I am informed, is in the Collegium
Curiofum at Copenhagen. This undertaking gave me an oppor-
tunity of travelling thro’ the diocefe of Chriftianfand, and of ob- |
ferving all the rivers, lakes, mountains, and every thing relative
to natural hiftory ; but afterwards, whilft I was employing my
leifure in augmenting and digefting my collections, in order for
publication, that deplorable fire which happened in Chriftian-
fand 1734, deprived me, befides 6000 volumes in all languages
and feience, of all my colleétions and manufcripts, fo that my

whole ftock was reduced to what I had treafured up in my me-
mory,

The AUTHORs PREFACE.
‘moty, soil have fince acquired by fubfequent obfervations. I
had» before publifhed. two little pieces, one in Holland, de caufa
et origine ventorum, the other at Hall in Saxony, of the North-
light. I can ftill amufe myfelf, with the entertainment I receive

in. my leifure hours, from books of Mathematics, and natural phi-

lofopy.” . So far M. Spidberg.

It is therefore a melancholy confideration, that fo few having
made any advances towards a natural hiftory of Norway, their
‘colleétions fhould be thus deftroyed; which, from feveral caufes,
has been the.fate of many excellent writings among us. Con-
cerning, the neglect of natural hiftory, or the. great {carcity of
fuch writings in the northern countries, the learned Muller, in
his Hagoge ad Hift. Cherfonef, Ambricz, cap. x1. p. ro. thus
exprefies himfelf: ‘« Hiftorie chorographice cognata eft naturalis,
que licet infinita rerum cfmlavydsy varietate in sregionibus hifce

luxuriet, et curioforum calamos atque ingenia provocet, pauci ta-.

men badtenus partem illius aliquam illuftrandam fibi fumpfe-
runt.” This likewife is the complaint of Dr. Henry Lochftor,
whofe death in the maturity of life, and in the midft of many
ufeful defigns, was a public lofs; in his differtation De Medica-
mentis Norvegiz fufhcientibus, p. 20, he fays, “ Monendum duxi,
haud deefle Norvegiz fontes medicatos, deefle autem; qui horum
vires et principia inquirant folertes naturalium rerum ftudiofos.”
_If we confider the natural caufe of this, it will not appear matter
of complaint, tho’ the effect is fo in a great degree. In a country
fo healthy as Norway, a few phyficians will fuffice, and confe-

quently, there are few who devote themfelves to Phyacal, ree

fearches. |

From thefe feveral circumftances it will be He to conchnde,
that I had not a multiplicity of fources from whence ‘to ae
many choice materials. The difcoveries which I have been able
myfelf to make, either by my own experience, or enquiries, or
experiments, have furnifhed my principal aids. My annual vite

_ tations, as has been intimated before, gave me the beft opportu-

Part ], | the, e nities,

XV

XVI

The AU THO RSOPR'E FA CE.

nities, and great encouragement. Almoft: every: inn in this ex-.

terifive diocefe, gratified ‘my curiofity, and yet this ‘is not the only

province ‘known to mé from my own experience: The diocefe
of Drontheim is the only one I have never been in, the others I
have travelled through, and in feveral places in that of “Aggerhuus
made fome ftay, and always took caré to find out a perfon, who
was able to fatisfy me in any queftions concerning the nature and
circumftances of the country. But the diocefe of Bergen, as will
be eafily imagined, ‘is the country of which I have had the moft
perfect knowlege, both from experience and information. Thefe
circuits ufually take up two or three months, and leaving me
more vacant time than I could with, I ufually, according to the
proverb, make a virtue of neceffity, by {pending part of the
time in converfation with the guides and drivers, appointed. at
different ftations to attend upon me with carriages. ‘Their an-
fwers to my feveral queftions, I afterwards examine with the mi-
nifters of the parifhes, or fome other perfon-well acquainted with
the country, and whatever I hear confirmed by {everal teftimonies,
or not controverted, or doubted of, I enter among my mifcellane-
ous obfervations, and, at my return home, compare them with
the defcriptions of fuch countries, efpecially the mountainous, or
which are in any other refpeét analogous to Norway. Thefe an-
nual tours I have alfo improved towards making a {mall colle@ion
of naturalia of Norway, fuch as ftones, ores, foflils, fea-trees, co-
rals, fnails, mufcles, uncommon birds, fithes, and the like: of the
moft remarkable of which, for the gratification of the reader, IF
have caufed prints to be annexed. ;

Laftly, on the fubje& of the Norway-birds, and more ae
larly the fifh; I have had recourfe to .the obfervations of men

‘whofe dwellings and employments give them opportunities of ex-

amining more minutely things, which do but feldom fall under
general obfervation. As to fifh and marine-animals, a greater
variety, and ftranger tribes are feen hereabouts, and off Nordland,

than in any part of Europe; but a fuperftition which prevails
among

The AAUsTEROR’s PREFACE.

among the lower claG of people, deprives us of moft of thefe, for,

wiisnithey! happen: tocatch a) fifh of aftrange, fingular figure,

confequently the greater fubject of curiofity, they are fure imme-

diately to throw it over-board; to thofe of the monftrous fpecies -

the peafants give the general appellation of trold, devil, or trold-
fith, devil-fith; and are weak enough to imagine, that unlefS it be
‘immediately fet at liberty, their fifhing will be unfuccefsful, and
_fomething or other amifs will certainly befall them.

I have now, delivered what I principally intended in this pre-
face, I fhall only repeat the before~-mentioned declaration, that I

do not fend this eflay abroad as a mafter-piece, and {hall rejoice

to fee it improved by more interefting articles, and more refined
obfervations; and to fee a complete fuperftructure raifed on_ this
foundation, by perfons of more leifure and opportunity.

However, I own myfelf entirely in the fentiments of a very
eminent writer on the like occafion, who, in his firft eflay of a
natural hiftory of Hungary, afferts the claim of an original writer
to the indulgence of the public; in the following words; ‘ Res
omnino remotas é fua, ut ita dicam, barbarie primus exemi ;
propterea veniam meteri videor mihi, fi nec omnia eruerim,
nec omnia correété .. ©. fentio inefle multa que corrigi, deefie
que valeant fuppleri *”. ~ Had T not judged this work to ftand
in need, or to admit of any amendment, I fhould not fo fre-
quently have called it an effay in this preface; but it is, indeed,
the firft effay on this fubjeét, and of courfe encumbered with
difficulties too great for the application and talents of one man;
and on this ground, I hope that every candid judge, who knows
how little leifure my indifpenfible functions leave me, will not
require more, or a more perfeé& work of this kind from one, who
‘may appear to have performed more than could. be expected, who
_ has denied himfelf many hours of natural repofe, if not fuftered

* Aloyfius Comes Marfilli in Danub. Panon, Myfic. Tom. 1. Preefat.

2 | by

KX

The AUTHORS PREFACE

~ his affiduity in other refpeats *, *, but this I fhall never regret,

if, in any meafure, I can clbscetbines to views the pei of God,
and the public welfare. Hoyve'ot!
Bergen, May 1. 1751.

* Qui multa agit, faepe eal poteftatem fi fait quam ae nef rare eX-,
periri, Seneca de Tranquillit, Anim, ae XII,

ALIST of the AUTHORS quoted in this Work.

A.

BILGAURD Petr.
Acta. Medica Hafnienf.

Adta Societ. Reg. Hafn. —
Acta Uratislaw.
félian. |
Aldrovandus Ulyffes.
Anderfon John.
Arbuthnot John.
Aritftotle.
Arreboe Andr.
Atheneus.

ANG Oluf.

Bartholin Thomas.
Bellonius.
Berndfen Arndt.
Bertius. ’
Bibliotheque Britannique.
Bibliotheque Germanique.
Bibliotheque Raifonnee,
Bibliotheque Philofophique._
Bochart Samuel.
Boyle Robert.
- Bonnet Charles.
Borner Nicol.
Borrichius Olaus.
Bremenfis Adam.
Brommel Magnus.
Brown.-Sir Thomas.
Buchanan.

~ Buchwald John.

Buffon M.

Burnet Thomas.

Buffeeus Andr.
Buxbaum Jo. Chrift.

ce.

AMBRENSIS Giraldus.

Camererius Elias.
Cartefius Renat.
Careri Gemell.
Chardin M.

Part I.

Charlevoix Pere.
Cicero.

Cleffel Joh.
Clercle Joh.
Clufius. |
Cnoxen Jac.

Commentarii Academ. Petropol.

Condamike M.
Cragius Nicol.
Crantzius Albert.

D.

PALEC4eaMP Jac.
Dalin Olaus.
Dampier.

Dapper Odoard.

Dafs Petr.

Daubenton M.

Debes Lucas.

Delices de la Suiffe Anon.
Derham William.
Defaguliers. © —
Detharding Georg.
Diodorous Siculus.
Dolmer Jens.
Duvernoi.

E.
EH cEDE Joh.
F.
FEUSTKING Henr.
emming Hans.

Frantzius.

G.

ARTNER Chrittian.

Gefner Cunr.
Glyfing Joh.
Gram Joh.
Grammaticus Saxo.

Griffin Hugues.
f

Grotius

: [ XXii ] -

Grotius Hugo.
H.

Du ALDE P.
Happelius Ewerb.
Hartfoeker Nicol.
Haffzus ‘Theodor.
Heitman Joh.
Herbinius M.
Henkel Joh.
Hierne Urban.
Holberg Ludov.
Horrebow Nicol.
Howel James.
Hvitfeld Arild.
Hoeftrém Petr.

j.

y ABLONSKY Theod. Joh.
y Jacobus Oliger.
Jone Arngrim.

/ESTNER Abraham Gottf.

Kircher Athanaf.
Klein Jacob:
Kraft Jens.

L.

ABAT Pere.
Lange Gottf. Henr:
Leibnitz B.
Leffer Frid. Chrift.
- Linnzus Carol.

Lochftor Henr.
M.

MA¢42IN of Dantzick.
Magazin of Hamburg.
Magazin of London.

Magnus Olaus.

Maregravius Georg.

Marfili Aloyfius.

Martens Fridr.

Martin M.

Mead Richard.

Mejerus Michael.

Memoires de VAcadem. des Scien-

ces.

3

Mercator Gerhard.

~ Molesworth M.

Mufckenbroeck.
N.

EWTON Sir Ifaae:
Neukrantz.
Nickols M.
Nova Litteraria Maris Baitici.

O.

O LAVIUS Stephan.
Olearius Adam.
Opian.

Owens Dr.

PB;

ARAUS Ambrof.
Paracelfus copie

Paris Matth.
Patrick Simon,
Pauli Sim.
Peirere Ifaac.
Plato.
Pliny.
Plutarch.
Polignac Cardinal.
Pococke Rich.
Pontanus Jo. Ifaac.
Pontoppidan Erich, Sen.
ta sa '

R,
ge MUS Jonas.

Ramus Joach. Frid.

Ray Joh.
Reaumur Monfr.
Reitzer Chrift.

Refenius Pet. Joh.

Rhodius Ambrof,
Rohault J.
Riccioli.

Rollin Carol.
Rondeletius.
Rudbech Olaus.

im
GCALIGER Jul. Caf

Schachtius Hern, Matth.
Sheffer Joh.

Scheid

Scheid Chrift Ludov:

Scheuchzer Joh.

Schmidt Joh.

Schott Gafpar...

Schurtzfleifch Conr. Satti

Schéning Gerrh.

Schonveld Stephan.

Seebald Henr.

Sevel Frid. Chritt..

Shaw Dr. ’

Sibaldus Robert:

Silius Italicus.

Spelman Joh.

sper ing Otto:
Spidberg Jens.

Steinkuhl Chrift.

Strabo;

Sturlefen Snorro.

Svammerdam Jo.

Svedenborg Eman.

T.

ACITUS Cornelius. |
Tavernier Jo. Baptio ©

Tilas Daniel.
‘Torfeus Thormod.
Torneus Joh.

Tranfactions Philofephs

Co Xx i]

_ Tulpius Nicol.
Toutnefort Pitton:

Wie
VALENTINI Mich. Bernhi.
W.

7ALLACE Dr.
Wentzky Georg:

- Wetenzk. Academ. Swenske Af:
CSL Aparidl: (>

Whitton William |

Willougby Francif
. Windheim C. E.
~ Wolf Chrift.

Woodward Dr.

Worm. Olaus.

JU.

| Uwnpatinus Petr. Claud:
Wy aurea a Sabet ANG

) 7ELTNER Guftav. _
4 Zormius Joh. Henr.

“SHOE

GONTENTS

To i A R § ats bowen iat pepe:

CHAPTER I.

Of the Air. and its Phenomena. CA | “Page ae
aE op oer | oe
Of the Soils and Mountains of Norway. 2 sSobge
CHAP. UL | 2
Of the WATERS. - hes 66
| CHAP. Iv. ih
Of the Fertility of N orway in variety of Vegetable, 96
a OH A Po, ( easihat
Account of the Vegetables continued. .. . 3), 49S.
| CH AP Vn.
Of the Sea-Vegetables of Norway. 148
CHAP. VI.
Of feveral kinds of Gems andcuriousStones inNorway. 160
CP AD ayaa, © .
Of the Metals and as Sas in perrey: 178
; sage
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THE | |
NATURAL HISTORY
O F |
Repay hx pps apt. 0 igi
PAR Tod.

CHAPTER I.

Of the Air and its Phenomena.

Seer. IL Of the tea of Norway, and diverfity of the atmofphere in general,
Sect. Il. Of the day-light and length thereof. Sect. UI. Of the aurora
borealis, and fea-light, in the mght. Sect. IV. The winter very mild and
feldom fevere, or lafting, on the weft fide. Suet. V. The wife and bountiful
defign of providence in this. Sect. VI. Natural caufe of it. Sucr. VII.

’ The winter moft fevere in the eaflern parts. Szcv. VII. Cautions and pre~
fervatives againft tt. Sect. 1X. Violent heats in Jummer, and their caufes.
Sect. X. Falfe notions of Soreigners concerning the air of Norway. Secr.
XI. The property of that air with refpet to health and ficknefs. Sucr. XI,

- Rains, and a humid air, on the weft fide. Sect. XIN. Advantages arifing
from thence agrecably to the defigns of the Creator. Secr. XIV. Difference
of weather in countries contiguous to each other. Secr. XV. Deep fnows,
efpecially on the mountains, together with the advantages and detriment thereof.
Sect. XVI. Regular and irregular winds,

hae Day ORrd aregeen
ae HE air, together with the light, warmth, humidity, Th <limete,

and various
w and other properties thereof, varies much more in Norway etna
oe @s5 than in moft European countries. This may well be con-
cluded, without perfonal experience, from the vaft extent

of the country, of 300 Norway-miles * from cape Lindefnaes fouth,

* I'he common miles of Norway are computed to be about one fourth larger than
a German mile, at which rate they are near equal to five or fix meafured Englith

miles. .
. B to

Day-light
and length
of the day.

*

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. :
to the north cape on the borders of Ruffia. Thus M. Ramus, fo
juftly celebrated for his hiftory of the civil tranfaGions and anti-
quities of his country, in the Chorographical defcription of Nor-
way, computes its length from Lindefnaes in the diocefe of Chrif-
tianfand, which lies in 58, or, more precifely, in 57 degrees, 47
minutes latitude, to the north cape at the extremity of Finmark,
at 71 degrees and half, to be in a direét line, or through the air,
202 miles and a half, but he finds that the circuit acrofs the
mountains and vallies, or by water, from one cape to the other,
increafes it to above 300 miles, and its breadth from the frontiers
of Sweden weftward, to cape Statt near Sundmoer, in 21 degrees
of longitude from the Canaries, is 6s miles, but from thence, the
country becomes gradually narrower towards the north. I. have
no particular knowlege of that part of Norway called Finmark,
which lies in the frigid zone, or near the polar circle, It is the ©
country. of Norway, properly fo called, at the extremity of the
temperate zone, that is here to be chiefly treated of, and it is the
air of this country, which I affirm to vary eonfiderably in refpect

of the degrees of heat and cold, light and darknefs. —

SH CT. dh

In this and moft other points, I fhall chiefly regulate my ob-
fervations by the horizon of Bergen, not only as it happens to be
the place of my refidence, but as its latitude, being 61 degrees
15 minutes, with refpeét to north and fouth, lies nearly in the
middle of Norway * properly fo called. The longeft day at Ber-
gen confifts of 19 hours, the fun rifing at half an hour paft two,
and fetting at half an hour after nine; and the fhorteft is only fix,
the Sun not rifing before nine, and fetting at three. .

The gradations of the snerente and decreafe of day-light, are
clearly exhibited in the following table.

* At Bergen in Norway, Gefle in Sweden, Nyftad in Finland, and Wyburg in Ca-
relia; as being at parallel diftances from the equator, the days and nights are of the
fame length. But at Bergen it 1s noon at the very fame inftant, as at Utrecht in Hol-
land, Marfeilles in France, and Conftantine in Afriea.

The

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 3

The rifing and fetting of the Sun in the horizon of Bergen, in
a the 6rft degree of latitude, according to Pontanus.

a

January. —s | February. | March. | April.
"| Sunsifes | Sun fets| | Sunrifes { Sun fets |_| Sun rifes | Sun fets | | Sun rifes | Sun fets
rhe fei ta ul EA) vide luda? ido el See 2 e
id SEE: Soa Winters Ce It ar 1k a Meek ee ae aa eM
25 8 Seats lisidoduaz a Ii} 6 | 6 TOs hee 7
ae ue i | 5. 3, e | 10] +5 2 Cpe Reo ie ee 3 8%,
Meo, cath Alike 21 5 65 | 26 34 8 =
ected Logit ath eh | ols
EE ite Fee andes Rati A ats Zed
May foor-fune. | Maoh. | Auguft, |
~~} Sun rifes [Sun fets[- [Sunrifes|Sunfets[ | Suhrifes|Sunfets{ | Sunrifes | Sun fets
Sy ge BE Sih Bec aed igad oealld bo eee Be ha |e
Pepe ea (iret eee ae OL Tg Piast OL PeCet lye
124-9 9 ao othicen bee stanlgpes bere 04 cis Ab
22] 2 4 ead. 22 |] 92,119) 32} Se] 19} 5 7
28 eae 23 atu il Ege 25 {0 a
oe ee 29 | 4 Sb) baioe dub @
September. | Odtober. | November. | December.
4 pe 8 re lecteleetelel oi |a3
i4 6 6- 9 aL & a es oe g = 3.2 12 9 = 2 Es
19 eg wie a Oe Mae eae ee tue 9 128
24] 65.| 62 1201 72°) 4712819 3 22] 9 3
) 25) 7% | 43 |
| bal 8 | 4 | | |

A particular herein obfervable, is, that as in the beginning of 5
the year the day-light increafes with remarkable celerity, fo it
decreafes at the approach of winter in a like proportion. In ‘the
middle of February, I have been able to read without difficulty
at fix in the morning, which at the fame hour in OGober was not
poflible; the caufe of this, being manifeftly the inclination of the
earth towards the poles, needs no further explanation.

In the fummer nights the horizon, when unclouded, is fo clear Clearnets of
and luminous, that at midnight one may read, write, and do every nights. a
kind of work as in the day; this I have often experienced, even
when age had brought me to the ufe of fpeGtacles. Chriftian V.
during his ftay at Drontheim, in June, 1685, ufed to fup at
midnight, without the ufe of lights. In the diftri@ of Tromfen,
which is properly the extremity of Norway, towards the iflands of
Finmark, the fun is continually in view in the midft of fummer,
and is obferved to circulate day and night round the north pole,
contracting its orbit, and then gradually enlarging it, till at length

it

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY-

it leaves the horizon, fo that in the depth of winter it is invifible
for fome weeks *, and all the light perceived at noon is a faint
glimmering of about an hour and_half’s continuance, which, as
the fun never appears above the horizon, chiefly proceeds from
the refle@ion of the rays on the higheft mountains, the fummits.
of which are feen more clearly than other objects. However,
this glimmering is not the only light with which the inhabitants _
of thefe northern provinces are provided for their fitheries, -and
other employments, in the open air. The wife and bountiful
creator hath afforded them all poflible affiftance, for thefe and
other purpofes. Befides the moon-fhine, which by refle@ion
from the mountains, is exceedingly bright in the valleys and
creeks, thefe northern people, as well as the peafants, and fither-
men in the diocefe of Bergen, when their day-light is contracted.
to fix hours, find confiderable relief from the north-light called.
Aurora borealis; it often affording them all the light neceflary to

their ordinary labors, efpecially as it is now both here and elfe-

The Aurora
borealis, and
fea-light in
the night.

where more frequent and extenfive than formerly.

SEC Ty 7 W.

This light in the air +, which here, and in Sweden, is known
by the name of Verlios, Lyfnar, Lyfanigar, and Lottettkien, is
elfewhere generally called the north-light, as ufually iffuing from
the north, and its appearance moftly known to the northern
people, although the real caufe of it be here, no lefs than in
other parts, a very dark problem, and involved in many uncer-
tainties. I fhall the lefs prefume to advance any thing as certain
and decifive on this head, fince counfellor Ramus, a native of
Norway, and a celebrated mathematician, hath not ventured to

* Even in thefe provinces, where, I have already obferved the fhorteft day to con-
fift of fix hours, there are alfo fome few parts fo inclofed within the fteep mountains,
that for feveral months they cannot fee the fun’s difk, though its beams are vifible to
them. As I paffed in my vifitation through the ifland of Laerdahl, the mafter of the
houfe where I lodged, affured me, that he, and his next neighbour, were bleffed with
the fun’s appearance, not more than four months of the whole year, namely, from the
middle of April, to the middle of Auguft, yet others, at the diftance of but a quarter
of a mile, where the valley widens, could fee it as ufual. ‘This muft be the condition
of fome of the inhabitants of the Alps, efpecially about Monte Cenis, which feparates
Savoy from Piedmont, where, in fome valleys, though the fun does not appear during
the whole winter, yet the inhabitants enjoy the neceffary day-light.

+ In England, and efpecially in the north parts, where the north light is alfo well
known, it is by reafon of its defultory motion, called Morrice-dancers, Merry dancers,
and ftreamers. ‘es

a account

a

--

NATURAL HISTORY-of VORWAY

account for it, and nothing of this kind is found even in the A@a
Societatis Hafnienfis, T. I. No. IX. and T. III. No. VI. where it
might moft naturally be expected, as thefe pieces contain hiftori-
cal and phyfical accounts of this very light, with {everal plates,
reprefenting the obfervations made in many parts of Europe, on
the various figures of the northern lights. In the year 1741, the
- fon of Capt. Heitman, another great naturalift of N orway, pub-
lifhed a pofthumous piece of his father’s, on the heat of the fun,
&e. and likewife on the north-light. His fyftem of the means
and manner by which the fun influences our earth, and the other
_ planets, at fuch an immenfe diftance, through the ethereal ex-
panfe, is certainly very ingenious, but I am cautious of fubfcrib-
ing to it, as it oppofes the dodtrines of Newton, Wolfius, Rein-
beck, and other eminent mathematicians; yet his thoughts on
the north-light, as he was both a perfon of great erudition and
experience in philofophy, deferve to be here inferted along with
other conjectures, efpecially as he there treats of another pheno-
menon analogous to it, namely, a fea-light, or a luminous ap-
pearance in the water, called by the N orwegians, Moor-Ild. His
fentiments on both thefe fubjets are as follows: ‘* Thus it is ob-
ferved in the frigid zone, that the force which gives motion to
the high winds, is there at its utmoft height; infomuch, that
fometimes the lower region of the air, which is filled with nitrous
vapours, is whirled round, and then -is formed that light in the
air called the Aurora borealis, or north-light: yet this is a light
void of heat, and of the fame nature with that light which the
people of Norway call Moor-Ild, and takes its rife nearly from
the fame caufe as the Moor-Ild, the latter proceeding from an
agitation of the-falt-water in a dark night, which hath been
every year obferved by the herring-fifhermen, when towing their
nets along in a calm; for the fea appears in a kind of flame, as
far as the nets reach, whereas before the motion of the nets, not
the leaft glimpfe of light was difcernible, In freth-water lakes,
there is no fuch flame apparent; it being formed by the faline
particles, which upon a motion of the fea begin to fparkle, and
_ caufe an effulgence *. The fame has been likewife obferved in

* This fparkling fire in the fea, fhall be treated of more at large in chap. 3. fect. 8.
When we come to treat of the fea, to which it properly relates.

navi-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

navigation: for as in a dark, calm night, the courfe of a fith
is perceivable-by a long and increafing track of light upon the
water, fo the water, behind a fhip under fail, appears luminous
to a confiderable diftance. |

Tt is not at all times, however, that this izneous effulgence is
to be feen in the fea; but it frequently happens at an approaching
alteration of the weather, and on the change of the winds to fouth-
welt, when the faline particles of the fea are thrown into a kind of
fermentation. In like manner, the northern-lights do not always
appear, but only at particular feafons, when the faline corpufcles
of the air are agitated by a natural fermentation. But the proper
rationale of this fermentation, and afcent of the faline particles of
the fea and air, is beft known to naturalifts, whofe refearches
turn on things of this nature. However, it is a general obferva-
tion among expert northern navigators, and the fifhermen who
live along the coaft of Norway, that when the-north-light moftly
appears to the weftward, it is a prognoftic of a fouth-weft wind;
which confirms the opinion of, the naturalifts, that fome regions
of the air, as well as of the fea, abound in faline corpufcles more
than others, and thefe, at certain times, create a ferment, and
diffufe a light through the air. Although this moft frequently
prefages the above-mentioned change of weather, yet, there is
often a confiderable interval, before the change actually takes
place. It is however certain, that the cold regions of the air
contribute greatly to the change and boifteroufnefs of the wea-
ther; particularly when the north-light has a copper-tinge, a
violent ftorm, at weft and north-weft, may be certainly expected,
though the weather may for a week after continue favorable to
navigators, before the ftorm comes on, Of this I have feen
many inftances.

In this fermentation of the air the cold is abated, and if it ex~
tends fo far as to rarify the air of the atmofphere, this is called
mild weather: And when, by the elevation of the inferior air, it
is the more comprefled againft that region, which is {aturated
with nitrous exhalations, fo that the wind in the inferior air fets
the lower part of the cold region in fome motion, this caufes
thofe corrufcations in the air, which are called the north-light.

In thofe years, when the winter is unufually fevere, thefe nor-
2 thern

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWVAY.

thern lights are feldom or ever feen; the air being too far op-
prefied and condenfed by the intenfnefs of the cold, to force it-
felf upwards againft the nitrous region, and communicate to it
that motion which produces the north-light, before the lower air
again ‘expands itfelf by freth fermentations.” |
Thus far M. Heitman, whofe obfervations in fome meafure
confirm the general opinion of its being a kind of fulgur brutum,
‘or lightning without thunder; confifting, as lightning generally
does, of inflamed fulphureous particles, but burning with much
lefs vehemence. Dr. Nicholas Boerner, in his Phyfics, chap. xi.
p-. 284. is exprefsly of this opinion, viz. “ that the north-light is
nothing but faline, fulphureous vapours, kindled in the upper air,
by a change it undergoes in autumn, {pring, and at other times,
when the fun has not power fufficient to rarify and difperfe thefe
fulphureous particles.” Or, to make ufé of the words of the cele-
brated Wolftus, “ it is a fubftance as yet immature for lightning;
of which he treats in a particular differtation; or, an imperfect
tempeft, as he calls it in fe@. 335, of his rational Refleions
on the works of nature.” This opinion may be further corro-
borated by the following circumftance: Some perfons of credit,
who live in this country, have affured me, that thefe F ulgura
fpuria, are not always without a crack or found, for in a glaring
north-light, and calm weather, a diftin@ found has been heard,
with an explofion in the air, like the fudden breaking of the ice.
Another opinion concerning the north-light, is, that it is no
more than a mere refraction, or refle@ion of a flame iffuing frem
certain vulcanoes, which, in favour of this conjecture, are fup-
pofed to lie beyond Greenland, near the north-pole. But this
- pofition is too weak to build any thing on, or to be generally
admitted. ‘There are many, however, who confider the northern
lights only as a mere refle@ion, or reverberation, tho’ not from
the flame of any vulcanoes, but from the fun itfelf, when far be-
low our horizon it meets with fome evaporating clouds, at fuch
a height as to be within the contaét of the fun’s beams in their
afcent. |
This is the opinion, - for which Dr. Ventfky of Prentflau de-_
clares in his third publication of Mifcellancous Obfervations,
drawn from the celebrated M. Euler’s enquiry into the north-
light,

8 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

light, which is to be found in the fecond part of the Hiftoire de
Academie. This hypothefis requires the following concurrence
of caules; firft, there muft be vapours in the upper regions of
the air; next, fome clouds of that fort, and thefe at a vaft height,
and in the north; and they muft not only emit vapours, but be
illuminated and irradiated by the fun, when it is invifible to us;
and of confequence, the fun muft be vifible to us at fuch time,
if we ftood as far above the horizon as the faid clouds. And
laftly, there muft bea north-wind in the fame upper region of
the air to fet it in motion, and to give a difpofition to the fi-
gures, which fo fuddenly change their appearance. It is poflible,
that the experience of pofterity may fuggeft jgndning more
probable.
The author's If I may be allowed, or expeéted, to add any opinion of my
ceming the OWN on this problematical fubjedt; it may perhaps be not more —
eo improbable than what hath been already alleged, if we admit,
that the original caufe of the north-light lies in the electricity of
the etherial air; and, confequently, that it has exifted at all
times, and in all places, tho’ not vifible to us, without a concur-
rence of fuch concurrent circumftances and junctures, as I fhall
here exhibit. It is not above twenty years, fince the ele@rical
experiments have become generally known, and as they have
excited the attention of all lovers of natural knowlege, they have
likewife filled them with hopes, that this difcovery would open a
way to the folution of many more myfteries in nature. I flatter
myfelf with the fame expectation; but the firft experiment of
any importance, which has occurred to me, relates to this very
point of deducing the north-light from the eleétrical, feeble, and
fubtile fire of the air, which by means of the more rapid circum-
volution of the globe on its poles, or axis, excites a more vehe-
ment concuflion, or agitation, in the air of the northern climates,
-and. thus difplays the electricity of the ethereal air moft confpi-
cuoufly in thofe parts. I was firft led into thefe refle€tions fome-
time fince by a converfation with a friend of mine, a very in-
genious naturalift, who fhewed me a remarkable paflage in the
Bibliotheque Britannique, Tom. xx1. P. 11. pag. 336. where,
among other extracts from the Englifh Philofophical Tranfac-

tions, is part of a piece of M. Defaguliers, intitled, A Differta-
2 tion

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tion concerning electricity. The {cope of his demonftrations is
fomething different, viz. to fhew the true caufe of the afcent of
rain-water, and the power by which it remains floating in the
air, which is at all times much lighter than water. But as the
inveftigation ‘of one truth often proves introduétory to another,
’ fo in this paflage the writer feems to direct us to a clearer infight
into the origin and nature of the north-light. I fhall therefore
infert fo much of that paflage here, as relates to our purpofe.
In ‘order to apprehend .his meaning, we muft recolle& with the
learned writer, that Mr. Du Fay’s obfervation, ‘“ that there are
two forts of electricity,” is proved by obfervations and experiments ;
and that the clerical bodies of a vitreous electricity mutually
repel one another, whilft they attract thofe of a refinous eleétrici-
ty; allo that thofe of a refinous ele@ricity repel one another, and
attract thofe of a vitreous electricity. |

“1 fuppofe, fays Dr. Defaguliers, particles of pure air to be
ele&tric bodies always in a ftate of electricity, and that vitreous
electricity.

1ft, Becaufe particles of air repel one another without touch-
ing, as has been deduced from experiments and obfervations.

2dly, Becaufe when the air is dry, the glafs-tube rubb’d (or
only warmed) throws out its effluvia, which the ait drives back
to the tube; from whence they dart out anew, and fo move
backwards and forwards with a vibratory motion, which conti-
nues their ele€tricity. :

gdly, Becaufe the feather made eleétric by the tube, and
darted from it, keeps its ele€tricity a long time in dry air;
whereas when the air is moift, the moift particles, which are non-
electrics, floating in the air, and being attracted by the feather,
adhere to it, and foon make it lofe its electricity; which alfo |
happens even to the tube in a little time.

From this confideration it will be ealy to account for a famous
experiment of the late Mr. Haukfbee, which is this:

Having pump’d out all the air from a glafs-globe, he caus’d it
to turn on its axis very fwiftly by means of a rope with a wheel
and pulley; then rubbing the glafs with his hand during its mo-
tion, there appear’d a great deal of light of a purple colour within
the globe, without any light or attra@ion obferv’d on the outfide
of the glafs, which is obferv’d when the air has not been pump’d

Parr I, D out,

io

NATURAL HISTORY 0f VORWAY.

out. Then turning the cock fo as to re-admit the air gently into’
the globe during its motion, the light was broken and interrupt-
ed, diminifhing gradually, till at laft it appeared only on the out"
fide of the glafs, where it was accompanied with attraétion.
Does it not appear that the external air, by its eletricity, at firft
drives -back the electric cAluvia of the glafs, which go then to
the infide of the globe, where there is the leaft refiftance? For
we obferve that as the air comes in, it repels the eledtric efHuvia,
that go inwards no longer when all the air is come in. If the
fact be fo, as the experiment fhews, is not my conjecture proved, -
viz. that the air is electrical? hin

In the reverend and learned Dr. Hales’s Vegetable Statics,
feveral of his experiments fhew, that air is abforbed, and lofés its
elafticity by the mixture of fulphureous vapours, fo that four
quarts of air in a elafs-veflel will, by the mixture of thofe efflu-
via, be reduced to three. Will- not this phenomenon be ex-

- plained by the different eleétricity of fulphur and air? The efflu-

via of fulphur, being eleétric, repel one another: and the particles
of air, being alfo electric, do likewife repel each other. But the

air being an eledtric of a vitreous electricity, and fulphur of a refi<

nous electricity, the particles of air attract thofe of fulphur, and
the Molecule compounded.of them, becoming non-eledtric, lofe
their repulfive force.” ‘ae
The judicious reader may, of himfelf, apply this paflage to the
north-light; and perhaps, by a mature difcuflion of it, ftrike out
clearer ideas of that phenomenon, than I can develop, who only
undertake to fet down a few things, which have occurred to me.
The terreftrial globe, together with its atmofphere, may be
confidered as the glafs-globe of the clerical machine. Upon
the air being exhaufted, and the globe whirled about with velo-
city, there appears within it a purple flame, and this is the co-

dour of the north-light; now this flame muft be the ether igneus.

Upon the re-admiffion of the circumambient air, efpecially if thick
and damp, the acid or ethereal fire within is expelled, and ho-
vers for fome time on the upper furface of the elafs, till, mingling
with the air, it is diffipated, and extinguifhed. Now this feems
to intimate to us, that the, north-light obferved towards the pole
or axis of our earth, does. not only owe its origin to the ether;
but is the very ether itfelf; which, being aggregated, gives way to

the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
the impreffion of the humid air, and mounts and floats above
the clouds, whofe motion likewife renders it variable. Whilft the
air is dry, whether by the frofts of winter, or the heats of fum-
mer, no north-light is to be feen. But upon the weather’s begin-
ning to break, either by a thaw after a fharp froft, or by rains after
heat, and when thefe are preceded by damp exhalations, the

north-light breaks forth, as a certain prognoftic of the change.

For thefe exhalations have then nearly the fame effe& in the
atmoiphere, as the aforementioned intrufion of the air into the
glafs-globe; propelling upwards the lighter ethereal air, when for
a time it appears like the purple coloured fluid iffuing from the
glafs-globe, till it is diffipated, or mixed again with the ambient
air. It is further obfervable, that the air near the poles is far
more denfe, and comprefles more vehemently, as being repelled
with lefs violence, than that in the middle of the globe, where
the centrifugal power operates with a more dire@ and immediate
force *,

Should this hypothefis, as indeed I know of no better,
proved. by fuperior naturalifts, it will afford a very
of a difficulty, which clogs all other {yftems;
known among thofe people of the north, who have the beft Op-
portunities of obferving thefe lights in the air, that the general
region, of them is not due north, but rather in the north-
quarter of the fky. Is it.afked how this comes to pais?
be anfwered, that as the ignorant imagine the fun daily
from. eaft to weft, the more intelligent know,
trary, the earth daily revolves from weft to ea
fide a rarefa@ion may be caufed in the air,
condenfation. It is likewife obfervable and
that from fun-fet to a little paft midnight, the Aurora borealis is
{trongeft, and to the beft of my knowlege not towards the

morning. Let others who have more fagacity, inveftigate this
matter farther,

be ap-
ready folution
namely, It is well

welt
it may
to run

that, on the con-
its thereby on one

confonant to this,

I muft afk the reader’s pardon for dwelling fo long on this
particular, though I am not without apology,

* Tn locis polaribus vis centrifuga nihil de gravitate aeris tollit, cum in eam fub
fiquatore direétione perpendiculari agat. Quamobrem pondus atmofpherz fupra
aquatorem debebit apparere minimum,

re ; EE um, prope polos maximum; quemadmodumob-
spvationes baroscopica quoque evincunt, Perr, van Mufchenbroek, Elementa
Phyficee, Sect. 1116,

Parr I, E

fince it appertains

to

and on the other a -

ii

12

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
to the phenomena.of N orway, and of the north in general, and
thefe are more immediately my fubje@, than natural - philofophy
in general; which, .however, I flatter mylelf, may, in fome re-
{pects derive fomeibenefit from this work.
I cannot forbear adding, that the northern peafant, tho’ he

does not arrogantly pretend to inform us, what the Aurora

borealis is, yet he is not fo flupid as to imagine it to be fome

tremendous portent of wars, the deaths of princes, and other

direful events, which has been the interpretation of thofe lights,

even till modern times, when they have been feen in France,

Spain, and Italy, and been made ufe of to circulate a general

terror and anxiety, very feldom as the omen of any happy event.
Yet.a fignal inftance of the latter happened even in N orway,

and no longer ago than the middle of the laft century; which,

among other things fhews, the north-light formerly not to have

been fo very ufual even here, or not fo well known. But one
extraordinary circumftance is, that the perfon who interpreted
this light as an omen, was a profeflor of phyfics and mathema-
tics, who, in the middle of the laft century, was firmly perfuaded
of having feen an apparition, which probably was no other than
the north-light ; and this apparition revealed to him the impor-
tant and happy revolution, which, within three years after hap-
pened in this kingdom, when the government was changed into
an ‘independent hereditary monarchy *.

* The authority to which I can appeal for this, is in J. H. Feuftking’s Gyne-
ceum Heret. Fanat. p.m. 658. in thefe words: “‘ A few years finee died here in
Kemberg, in his 92d year, our learned and experienced phyfician Ambrofe Rhodes,
who, whilft profeffor of natural philofophy and mathematics, at Chriftiana in Nor-
way, predicted from the appearances which were obferved at Eger in Norway on the
ft of Auguft, 1657, that Frederic III. who was then on the throne of Denmark,
would be invefted with an unlimited fovereignty, and that the kingdom before
elective, would be thus made hereditary. An account of his thoughts and inferences
from this phenomenon, he drew up in writing at the preffing requeft of Jens Bil-
kens, chancellor of the kingdom. I muft own that fome particulars in it are very
aftonifhing, and appear fo even to the celebrated C. S. Schurtzfleifch, who in his
Latin letters (which are very well worth reading) mentions it in the following man-
ner. *¢ Memorabile eft in vicino oppido Kembergenfi, medici et mathematici non in-
glorii judicium de oftento quodam in Norvegia vifo, unde prafagivit Reei Dania
Friderico III. plenam et hereditariam poteftatem, quod eventus An. 1660, appro-
bavit.”

SECT.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

3 ei cree TY,

From the light, ‘which is the frft object of perception in the
air, I proceed to its heat and cold. The degrees of thefe, as
already obferved, are very various; ‘and this -not only from ‘the

annual viciflitudes:of the feafons, but in the very fame feafon,

‘and on the fame day, the variablenefs is greater than {trangers can
well conceive to be poflible. I fhall the rather enlarge on this re-
anarkable phenomenon, .as it isa mantifeft argument of the power
and wifdom of the ‘Creator, and his tender care of his creatures *.
On the eaft-fide of Norway, or from the frontiers of Sweden to
Filefield, that isin moft of the provinces, the winter’s cold gene-
rally fets in about the middle of O@ober, lafting till the middle
of April, or, according to the computation of the peafants, from
Calixtus’s day to that of Tiburtus, when the air is here as
cold as at the extremity of the temperate zone. The waters
are frozen to a thick ice, and the mountains and valleys covered
with fnow. I {hall hereafter produce fome inftances of the ex-
treme intenfenefs of the cold. However, this is of fuch impor-
tance to the welfare of the country, that, in a mild winter, the
peafants, who live among the mountains, are confiderable fufter-
is ; for, without this fevere froft and fhow, they can neither con-
vey the timber they have felled, to the river, nor carry their corn;
butter, firs, and other commodities, in their {ledges, to market-
towns, and after the fale of them, carry back the neceffaries they
are there fupplied with. I muft here mention a wonderful in-
-ftance of the divine economy, which I fhould hefitate to commit

t%

The winter
mild in the
weftern parts,
and the frof:
feldom fevere
or lafting.

to writing, did not thoufands of witnefles confirm it: when the |.

* According to the common opinion, and even the polition of Ptolemy’s Geogr.
cap. Vill. countries equally diftant from, or equally near to, the line, fhould have
equal cold and heat. But that this is not the cafe is proved by Profeffor Kaeftner in
his Explanation of Dr. Halley’s method of calculating heat, Hamburg Magazine, tom.
iii. p. 4263; but none of the inftances adduced by him are fo clear as what might
have been brought from the natural ftate of N orway, had he been acquainted with

it. “The true caufe of the want of heat, in the northern countries, is the vicinity
of that part of the globe to the pole;. the folar rays there falling more obliquely
and, confequently, not acting with fuch force as near the line, where they fall in
more perpendicular direétions. The other caufe, moft current among the ignorant,
namely, the greater diftance of the fun, can occafion no great difference, if we con-
fider the vait diftance of the fun from the earth, confifting of fo many millions of
miles; for this being confidered two hundred miles, more or lefs, cannot be fuppofed
to affect us, at leaft not in any degree; elpecially as we know, that the fun is fartheft
from the earth in-the heighth of fummer, and neareft it about Chriftmas; but it

then defcends fo very low, that, from the obliquity of its rays, it gives little or no
heat. |

Sir. winter

14

The wife and
bountiful de-
fign of provi-
dence in this,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

winter rages with fuch feverity in, the eaft parts of Norway, that
all the frefh-waters are frozen, the lakes and bays are open on
the weft-fide, though lying in a dire@ line with the eaftern parts;
the air is mifty and cloudy, and the frofts feldom are known to
laft a fortnight or three weeks. In the center of Germany, which
is two hundred leagues nearer the line, the winters are, generally,
more fevere, and the frofts fharper than in the diocefe of

‘Bergen,’ where the inhabitants often wonder to read in the pub-

lic papers, of froft and fnow in Poland» and Germany, at a
time when no fuch weather is felt here. “Fhe harbours of Am-
fterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Lubeck, are frozen ten
times oftener than ours; for, with us, it is generally known
not to happen above two or three times in a whole century ;
and, which is yet more extraordinary, when the harbour of
Bergen is frozen, the Seine, at Paris, may be concluded to be
in the fame condition. Thus our winter at Bergen is fo very’
moderate, that the feas are always open to the fifhermen and
mariners; and it is feldom that the bays and creeks’ are froze
over, except thofe that reach far up the country towards Filefteld,
where they meet with keen and dry north-eaft winds, blowing

from the land *.° In the other parts, towards the weftern coaft,

it is but feldom, as has been before noticed, that any hard
winters, or lafting frofts, are heard of, though travellers, who per-
haps come from, or beyond, Filefield, about 20 miles eaftward,
fay, they have had fevere winters there for fome time paft.

Se kG Te Mv.

This amazing difference is, according to the wife defign of the
creator, requifite for the well-being of the country; for, as I have
already obferved, the eaftern parts require a hard winter for their
fabfiftence, and a mild winter, and open weather is no lefs ne- .
ceflary to the weftern parts, where the inhabitants chiefly main-

* As far asthe Soth, or 82d degree, thenorth-fea continues open and navigable
both winter and fummer, except in the creeks, and alone the fhore, in Finmark,

Iceland, and Greenland, from whence the large maffles of ice being detached, are feen

to float in the fea. In winters of extraordinary feverity, when the Baltic is frozen up,
the fwans, which otherwife are not to be clafled among the birds of this country,
tranfmigrate hither, to procure themfélves water, which they are there deprived of ;

-and I have been credibly informed, that the few fwans, which are ftill to be feen at

Syndfiord, and other places within my diocefe, were refugees from Denmark, in the
years 1708 and 1740.

I | tain

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tain themfelves by their fea-fifheries. It is expedient for them,
that the fea fhould be open during the whole winter; for from
the middle of January, the herrings, skates, cods, &c. are chafed
by the whales towards the coaft, when the peafants fally out in
multitudes from the creeks, into the fea, and thus get a great
part of their fubfaftance for the whole year; and feveral thoufands
of the northern peafants of both fexes, during January and Fe-

Winter.
fifhery.

bruary, pafs the whole day upon the open fea, and only towards —

the approach of night betake themfelves to their huts, in the
neighbouring iflands. This mildnefs of the winter is likewife
neceflary for curing and falting the fifth, which in frofty weather
would be fpoiled and ufelefs: for if the fith fhould freeze as foon
as taken out of the water, the falt could not penetrate into them,
being obftructed by the ice; and if carried home and kept till a
thaw comes on, they foon become flaccid and. putrified at. the
bone, and confequently unfit for ufe; a fufficient evidence of the
abfolute neceflity, and great benefit of a mild winter, to the weftern
parts of Norway. |

soy oun OOL0 Bah if fe

If it be farther asked, how is it poffible that nature can regu-
late herfelf by the neceflities of the inhabitants, and give them
frofts and thaws at the fame time, under the fame climate; I an-
fwer, that it is no miracle, but purely the refult of the primary
natural difpofition of things. It-is a general rule, that Norway,

from its fituation on the globe, muft have fevere winters; but

the exception from this rule lies here; the weftern fide of N orway
lying neareft to the great ocean, its air muft be fenfibly milder,
the intenfe froft being warded off by the conftant intermixture of
warm exhalations, vapours, and. mifts from the fea, which in the
lower region of the air, infenfibly diffolve the almoft imperceptible
fharp particles of ice that proceed from the north pole, or congeal
in the cold upper regions of the air, but are melted as foon as they

fall in with the warm vapours of the fea. That thefe exhalations

abate the natural rigour of the weather, cannot be doubted; but
whether they arife from warm {prings at the bottom of the fea,
continually boiling by means of the centrial fre; or if this be
denied, whether this ebullition be the effeét of lefler fubterrancous

Parr I, FE - vul-

The natural
caufe thereof.

1 © NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY

vulcanoes refembling the mountainous ones on the furface of
the earth, it would not be pertinent here to determine.

Woodwara’s Without entering into a prolix examination of thefe things, I

pee a ni {hall only quote Woodward’s opinion on this head, “‘ There is

a's a nearly uniform and conftant heat diffeminated throughout
the body of the earth, and efpecially the interior parts of it;
the bottoms of the deeper mines being very fultry, and the
{tones and ores there very fenfibly hot, even in winter and the
colder feafons; and ’tis this heat which evaporates and elevates
the water of the abyfs, buoying it up indifferently on every
fide, and towards all parts of the globe.” And, page 151, he
adds, ‘‘ That the water refident in the abyfs, is, in all parts of
it, endued with a confiderable quantity of heat; and more efpe-
cially in thofe parts where thefe extraordinary aggregations of
his fire happen. So likewife is the water which is thus forced
out of it, infomuch that when thrown forth and mixed with the
waters of wells, of f{prings, of rivers, and of the fea, it renders
them very fenfibly hot.” Thus far Woodward.

It is fufficient that experience fhews the countries remote from
the fea, tho’ neareft to the line, to be fubject to the hardeft win-
ters; and that among thofe countries which are actually encom-
pafled. by the fea, none have lefs of the winter, that is of the froft,
ice, and {now thereof, than thofe which lie open to the great
fea, or the main ocean, the mild and warm. effects of its exhala-
tions being moftly felt in winter, when they are moft copious,
having a large range in the atmofphere, which at that feafon is
lefs crowded by the folar rays. It is almoft inconceivable, tho’
certainly true, that the winter of the year 1708, fo remarkable
for its deftructive feverity, was not remarkably different at Ber-
gen from the other common winters. And fo likewife Ireland,
Scotland, and the Orkneys, all fituated towards the weftern

ocean, felt little of the extraordinary rigor of that winter; of
which more particular accounts may be read in the Englifh phi-

lofophical

# To remove all doubts, which thofe who are not experimentally acquainted with
this fingular providence may entertain of it, I fhall confirm it by the following paf-
fage from Derham’s phyfico-theology, B. 4, C. 2. Of which defence againft the moft
fevere cold, (namely the warm exhalations from the fea,) we have lately had a con-
vincing proof in 1708, when England, Germany, F rance.and Denmark, and even

the more foutherly parts of Italy, Switzerland, and other countries, fuffered ee
Tie hae A ad whereas

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 17

lofophical tranfadtions * N° 324. In relation to this truth, a certain
French geographer muft be allowed to be in fome meafure right, AS:
though the affertion feems very fingular and unheard of, ‘ L’ait Empires et

; . rincip. du
elt fort doux en Norvegue, de forte que la mer n’y gele point, Monde, par’
s e . SD cor D:. Tani
et la neige y eft fort peu de tems.” i. e. In Norway the air is ¥- p- 777:
very temperate, fo that the fea is never frozen, nor does the fhow

lie long upon the ground,

Se yd. NM.
The cold

The aforefaid writer probably had his account from fome mott fevere
Norwegian, who was acquainted only with the weft fide of the f°"
country; for the defcription by no means agrees with moft of the
provinces, and efpecially all the eaftern parts near Filefield. The
intenfenefs of the winter is there extreme, particularly in the le-
vels on the mountains; which are far more expofed to the
feverity of the air than the valleys, and reach towards the upper
region of the atmofphere which is much colder than the lower,
as the reflexion of the fun is there le& powerful, and the air
more rarified. ‘The ufual degree of the cold, efpecially in Janu-
ary and February, may be fuficiently conceived from hence, that
the largeft rivers, with their roaring cataracts, are arrefted in their
courfe by the froft, and the very {pittle is no fooner out of the
mouth, than it is congealed, and rolls along the ground like hail.
A farther inftance of the extreme cold, not unworthy notice,
efpecially as it raifes aftonifhment in foreigners, is, that no fooner
has a horfe dropped his excrements on the ice, than the balls of
horfe-dung move and leap on the ground: The caufe of this is
the fudden change from heat to cold, which occafions a violent
conflict, when the fharp and denfe air penetrates forcibly into
the lighter, and expels it *, Oe
whereas Ireland and Scotland felt very little of it, more than in other Winters. But

it feems this is what ordinarily befal thofe northern parts, particularly the iflands of
Orkney, of which the learned Dr. Wailis eives the following account, “ there the
winters are generally more fubjeét to rain than fhow; nor doth the froft and fnow
continue there fo long as in other parts of Scotland; but the wind in the mean time
will often blow very boifteroufly, and it rains fometimes, not by drops, but by
fpouts of water, as if whole clouds fell down at oneé, &c.” Likewife M. Latds De-
bes, in his defcription of the Ferro iflands, affirms, ** that the winters there are not
very cold, though they lie in the 62d degree of latitude; the frofts feldom laftine
longer than a month, and are withal fo moderate, that no ice is ever feen in an open
bay, nor are the fheep and oxen ever brought under cover.
* Of the fmall and piercing darts of ice, as they are called, which are particularly
-thot forth by the north, and north-eaft winds, the very learned Jens Spidberg, deaf

on

18 _ NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

It is neceffary to ufe great caution in providing againft fuch
weather, in which an unexperienced or unguarded traveller may
be deprived of his nofe and ears; it is particularly expedient to
cover the face, and for this the moft approved method is to fix a
piece of gaufe under the hat; which both retains the warm efflu-
via iffuing from the body, and keeps off the piercing air better
than would be imagined; allowing at the fame time fight enough,
to guide the horfe.. Some now and then rub their faces with a
handful of fnow, as enabling it, better than by warmth, to bear —
the cold; but in long journeys over the higheft mountains, where
the air is much keener, and the winter quite infupportable, no
precautions would avail, without the convenience of the moun-
tain-Stoves, as they are called, which are kept at the public charge
for the repofe and warmth of travellers. Of the neceffity of thele,
and the impraéticablenefs of the mountainous and defart parts in
the winter-months, the Swedes afford a melancholy inftance;
and as the like is fcarce to be found in the hiftory of any age,

Several thou- I {hall here give a fhort account of it. In February 171+, feven

pie Re pee: thoufand, fome fay nine thoufand Swedith foldiers, together with

= their officers, perifhed in a moft deplorable manner on the
mountain of Ruden, or Tydal, which feparates Jempteland -in
Sweden, from the Diocefe of Drontheim, without any other
enemy than the extreme cold; which furprifed them on the ridge
of that mountain, where nobody could come to their affiftance,
The affair happened in this manner:

In the autumn of the preceding year, this corps, which then
confifted of ten thoufand men, had penetrated into the country,
and appeared to have a defign upon Drontheim; thereby to clear
a paflage for the main army, which was at that time under the
command of the king in perfon, and had made an irruption
near Frederickfhall, and to facilitate its farther progrefs into
of Chriftianfand, Beans the following teftimony, ‘‘ It cannot be denied, that the air
towards the north is in winter-time full of innumerable particles of {now and ice,
which are frequently fo large and fenfible, that when the wind blows frefh, they dart
into the face, and give it a pain like the {mart of a {witch; and they are not only felt,
but when the cold is very intenfe, and the fun fhines clear, thefe particles may be
vifibly difcerned, glittering like fo many little Stars.” And this accounts, why the
north wind is of a more penetrating coldnefs than any other, that in its paflage, it
fweeps along the {nowy mountains of the north, and thus becomes impregnated, as”
it were, and loaded with thefe particles, or lamellae nivez et glaciales, which among _

us occafion fuch a fharp cold. Supplem, H. Actor. Vratisl. Art. 4. p. 71, re
; | or-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 19

Norway, but the gallant Danith general Budde, who, in the laft
invafion of the Swedes, had done his country ereat fervice, made
fuch good difpofitions againft the enemy, that they laid afide their
defign of attempting Drontheim, and cantoned themfelves among
the peafants, till the beginning of the year 1719; when, though
late, they received an account by exprefs of the unexpected death -
of the king before Frederickthall. Soon after, advice coming
that Gount Sponeck was in full march towards them, they had
orders to make the moft precipitate retreat over thofe defart and’
lofty mountains; but juft as they had reached the frontiers of their
own country, they were overtaken by a ftorm, accompanied. with
an extreme cold, and much fnow, which fo bewildered them, that
the greateft part of them perifhed. A company of two hundred
Norwegian fledge-men, under major Emahus, which followed
them clofe to obferve their retreat, found the enemy dead upon
the mountains; fome fitting, fome lying, and fome ina pofture of
prayer, all frozen to death. How great their diftrefs mutt have been,
may be judged from their cutting their mutkets to pieces, in order
to burn what little fuel they could raife from them. The generals
Labarre and Zoega were among the dead, but the generals Adler-
feld and Horn barely efcaped with their lives; and of the whole
body only two thoufand five hundred, or, according to others, no
more than five hundred, furvived this dreadful cataftrophe *,

SEC T. VUL

From this accidental digreffion I now return to the cold in fretervatives
Norway, which led me into it, and fhall thew, according to my Beh
defign, that the wife and provident Creator has not left the inha-
bitants of thefe cold climates without a greater variety of preferva-
tives againft the weather, and more means of keeping themfelves
warm, than other countries afford. 1. The country abounds in
large foretts, affording them plenty of fuel, and timber for build-
ing ftrong houfes: 2. The wool of the fheep, and the furs and

_ * Whoever confiders this great lofs, which was infli@ed by the hand of God, and

the many other defeats, particularly at Mofs, Frederickthall, Ringerige, Crogftoven,
id, and elfewhere, cannot but wonder that Mr. Nordberg, an hiftorian of ereat
merit in other refpects, fhould in the fecond part of his life of Charles XII. affirm,
that the war was carried on with equal advantage, or rather onthe Swedith fide with
confiderable fuperiority. ‘ Par 1A les forces de Charles XII. furent affez egales 4
celles de fon ennemi. 11 fit trois campagnes en Norvegue avec un avantage aflez
egal et méme avec fuperiorité.” An affertion without the leaft truth. But the cir-
cumftances of this laft war were never rightly underftood by foreigners.

Parr I, G * fkins

20:

Great heat in
fummer, an
its caufes,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUAY.

fkins of wild beafts, farnith them with warm linings for their
clothes, and good bed-covering: 3. The innumerable flights of
wild fowls fupply them with down and feathers: 4. The moun-
tains themfelves ferve them for fences, and retreats; their fummits,
indeed, are unhabitable, on account of the cold and barrennefs ;
but the fhelving fides, or interftices, efpecially where the expofure
does not face the north or eaft, enjoy weather that is at leaft
fupportable. But above all it is to be obferved, that even the cold
air occafions warmth in the bodies of men; its comprefiive force
rendering the body more frm and compaét, and fortifying it againft
external injuries: and thus the natural warmth is by the clofe-
nefs of the pores repelled towards the inner vital parts, and more
particularly concentrated in the ftomach; fo that the northern
people are known to digeft {moked flefh, dried fith, and other food
hard of digeftion, better than any other nations*, In fhort, in
this as in every other refpet, the ceconomy of the Almighty to-
wards his creatures is full of wifdom, goodnefs, and harmony. I
can even venture to afirm, that were the Norwegians tempted by.
any thing to change countries with the Italians, the winter’s cold
would not be the motive to the exchange: for this is the leaft of
their complaints; and, for my own part, I cannot fay that the
cold here has ever been more painful to me than in other parts.

oY atc: Gane Sa

After this account of the cold in Norway, it is proper to fpeak
of the heat. Here I apprehend many would interrupt me with a
gueftion, whether it is ever actually warm in Norway? I anfwer
from experience in the affirmative: for in the beft fummer-
months it is not only warm, but fometimes to fuch a degree, that
according to the vulgar phrafe, # may make a raven gape; and
perfons, who have been born and educated in hot climates, might
fancy themfelyes fuddenly tranfported home. Particularly in this
prefent year 1750, on the laft day of July and firft of Auguft, the

* That the particles of the atmofphere are more condenfed near the poles, and
confequently prefs more forcibly on bodies, than in the expanded and rarified air of
hot climates, infomuchthat 1010 pounds of copper at Drontheim, weigh only rooo}b.

at Rouen, is demonftrated and explained by J, Rohault, Traité de Phyfique, Tom. 11.

P. 111, C. 111. § 9. where he alfo fhews, that the mercury rifes higher in Denmark
and Sweden, thay in France and Italy.

2 heat

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. au

heat was fo exceflive, that M. Haar, minifter of Waas, and for-
merly chaplain in the Eaft Indies, declared he hardly ever felt
it hotter in that country; tho’ I am inclined, partly, to impute
this, to the much ftronger impreflion made on the mind by prefent
fenfations, than by the recollection of any paft*. | |

The caufe of thefe violent heats (which however are but of
fhort duration) may be partly derived from the valleys inclofed with-
in high mountains, where the rays being compreffed and confined,
the reverberation of them from all fides muft occafion fuch heats,
as were the fummer of any confiderable length, would bring grapes,
and other fruits and vegetables, to the like exquifite perfection as |
in other countries. The fecond, and which is the chief caufe, is,
that in the midft of fummer, the fun’s abfence below the horizon,
is fo {hort that there is no night, at leaft no total darknefs;_con-
fequently neither the atmofphere nor the mountains have time to
cool, but often retain part of the heat of the preceding day; and
if the general opinion of naturalifts, that-a mineral {oil emits ful-
phureous and hot effluvia, be true, this may come in for a third
caufe of the heat, the country being almoft every where full of
"mines, | |

There cannot be a more decifive proof of the fummer’s heat Ea:ly harves.
in Norway, than that feveral vegetables, and particularly barley,
grows up and ripen within fix weeks or two months; which,
befides the great profit, is of very confiderable advantage to the
peafant, as it enables him to begin threfhing when hewill, which he
is often under a neceflity of. doing very early. It is faid, that the
fame happens in Sweden within a much fhorter {pace, namely,
36 days; but this I mention only on the authority of the cele-
brated Olaus Magnus, who has the following paflage concerning
it, ‘* Quoad Aquilonares hoc certum eft, in plerifque agris Weft-
rogothorum; parte objecta meridionali plage, hordeum {patio 36
dierum a femine projecto maturum colligi; hoc eft, a fine Junii ad
medium Augufti, aliquande celerids” +. It is certain that, where
nature has but a fhort time to work, fhe accelerates her opera-

* It appears, that in the countries lying far north, the great length of the days
often renders it warmer than with us. Wolffius’s Phyfic. Part. 11. Chap. vit. p. m. 180.

t+ On my vifitation in the year 1750, I faw ‘at Indwigen, in Nordfiord, barley

ripe and mowed on the 29th of July. Of the vegetables of the country I fhall here-
after {peak more at large,

tions,

22 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tions, and acts with greater energy. In our northern gardens, it

is indeed feldom that the winter fruits can attain to their proper
maturity; but thofe of the fummer keep pace with thofe of Den-
mark, where ftrawberries, cherries, and the like, are ripe fo early
as the firft of July. Counfellor Carbiner has more than once had
tipe figs, in his garden at Bergen; and in Chriftiana, M. Wilfter,
an apothecary, has feveral years brought grapes to a degree very
little fhort of perfeé&t maturity.

SE Mer ee eke
Falfe notions From thefe inftances, I prefume, foreigners will have the can-

of foreigners

concemning dor to admit, that however natural and lafting the cold may be
the air i : 3 . s

Notware | Lis) orway, yet the impartial Sovereign of nature has not fo

far neglected us, but that we may pafs our days agreeably’; efpe-

cially, if it be confidered, that what the climate of Norway de-

nies, it abundantly compenfates in other advantages; of which I

fhall hereafter have occafion to adduce feveral proofs, partly in

praife of the Creator, and partly for the information of foreigners,

and the confutation of that very falfe idea, which, even in my

own country, men entertain of the rigorous and unpleafant cli-

mate of Norway; which is feldom mentioned but with a com-

miferation, of which it is not a prefling object. But no conceit is

more abfurd than that of Simon Patrick, a native of England, and

in other refpeéts a writer of great learning and worth; who repre-

fents a Norwegian as one who had never feen a rofe (which is a very

common flower in Norway) and was afraid to touch it, imagin-

ing it to be fire*. Who would have thought, that an European

could be fuch a ftranger to Norway, and an Englifhman too, who

ought to know it better from the equality of its fituation with the

North of Scotland, this being nearly in the fame degree of lati-

tude with the bifhopric of Bergen ; not to mention the frequent

* This paffage occurs in a piece of his, in which he inftructs and cautions a friend

againft lukewarmnefs and apoftafy from the Chriftian religion. His words are to

the following import: ‘‘ The poor Norwegian, as hiftory informs us (I afk what

hiftory ?) was afraid at the firft fight of a rofe to touch it, being apprehenfive of

burning his fingers; he was aftonifhed that trees, as he imagined, fhould produce

flames and fiery flowers; he moved his hand towards it to warm himfelf, but could

not be prevailed with to touch it; but as he was over-joyed to be delivered from fuch

a grofs miftake, being afterwards brotight not only to touch but to fmell this inno-~ —

cent flower, which at firft appeared to him ta be a fire, fo it will be with us, &c.”

And juft fo would it have been with the worthy author, had it been his fate to have
come to Norway, and there to have {een the rofes growing every where.

voyages

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 23

voyages of the Englifh to Norway, fome of whom are very well
pleafed to fettle there ; or the conftant voyages of Norwegians to
England, who, if the trade would turn to any account, might fur-
nifh the Englifh abundantly with rofe-water.

ee ope Saeed al
If the air of Norway be confidered in refpeé& to health and quality ofthe

| aAelte . air in refpedt
ficknefs, particularly as to the natives, it will appear to be pure to health and
and falubrious from many inftances of perfons of a very ad- “Wea
vanced age, efpecially among the peafants. Mr. Jonas Ramus,

in his Chorographical Defcription. of Norway, 1s of opinion that

a more healthy air in fummer is hardly to be met with any where

than in Norway; though I muft confefs, that this varies accord-

_ ing to the fituation of places. The moft pure and kindly air, I
judge to be, in the middle of the country, efpecially about the
mountains, where the inhabitants have hardly an idea of fick-
nefs, unlefs it be hereditary, or contracted by intemperance. It

is reported, though I will not warrant the truth of it, that in the

vale of Guldbrand, which~is regularly vifited by very falubrious
gales, efpecially in the parith of Lzefloe, there are perfons of fuch

an extreme age, that from a laffitude of longer life, they get
themfelves removed elfewhere in order to die the fooner; that
farther in the province of Valders, and in other parts, meal may

be kept many years without being worm-eaten, or any other da-
mage; which amounts to a demonftration of the purity, whol-
fomnefs, and drynefs of the air, But on the other hand, on the
fea-coalts, and here in Bergen, I account the air to be lefs
healthy from the abundance of humid and faline vapours from

the fea, efpecially in winter, when the mifts and rain are more fre-
quent than clear froft; yet with the afthmatic, this moift air
agrees better than a finer or drier, which may be more piercing ;

a proof of this I had in an intimate acquaintance of mine, sola
found his breaft and lungs confiderably eafed after his arrival from
Denmark, which I attribute to the air here, as more humid than

that of Copenhagen, tho’ the latter in winter is not without fre-
quent foos and rains *,

* This may poffibly be the caufe that a very dry air hurts confumpt} ; .
by too ftrong a tenfion of their weak lungs, and by detaching ig aaetig eae

Parr I, H Gene-

24.

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORW4Y

Generally f{peaking, experience, the beft inftruétor, fhews
the air in moft places of N orway to be pure and falubrious,
and even more fo than in many other countries, as perfons of re=
gular lives, all circumftances duly confidered, arrive in thefe parts
to the utmoft extent of the.age of man. I thall produce many
memorable inftances of this hereafter, when I thall particularly
treat of the inhabitants of the country; and the fame is evident
from the yearly bills of births and burials, which, by his majefty’s
order, I tranfmit to Copenhagen. I fhall here only mention, that
next to their plain and fimple food, the Norwegians owe their
permanent health and longevity more to their air, than to medi-
cinal arts and precautions; for medicine is very little underftood
here; the little we know of it is learnt from foreigners ; and
whilft the lawyers are never at a lofs for clients, practitioners in
phyfic meet with very few patients.

It is only in the chief towns that phyficians are commonly to be
found, and there they are eftablifhed with a public falary, as Pro-
vincial phyficians, and in general have but very little employment ;
even in this populous city of Bergen, among thirty thoufand fouls,
(fome indeed carry the number higher, but I believe they are mif=
taken) there is but one, or at the moft two phyficians, and thefe
are found fufficient; whereas in a German city of the fame ex-
tent, fuch as Lubeck, or Roftock, ten or more may find an am-
ple fupport. Norway, indeed, cannot be faid to be entirely ex-
empt from peftilential diftempers, for the Black-death, known
all over Europe by its terrible ravages, from the years 1348 to so,
was felt here as in other parts, and to the great diminution of
the number of the inhabitants. I likewife find accounts of great
numbers of people of all ranks, fwept away in the years 1618,
1630, and 1654. But the piercing colds of winter, and the
ftorms feem to be a divine difpofition for purifying the air, and
{topping the progrefs of an epidemical difeate. ‘The like good
effe@ is produced by thunder and lightning, which diflipate the
fulphureous and nitrous particles in the air. It is a general no-
tion; that ftorms and tempefts are more violent here than elfe-
Se Oe Ree, ear Wieder: coat palin oe
times obliged to fprinkle water up the air to moiften it, and when they breath, hold

a wet cloth to their mouths. Hamburg Magazine, B. 1. page 38.

where, .

NATURAL HISTORY of VORHAY.

where, but in this Iam inclined to think the found impofes on
our judgment, the noife and eccho of winds and thunder being
much louder among the lofty mountains than in the plain coun-
try. This ditterence I have found, that fometimes, tho’ feldom,
‘thunder is heard at Bergen in the winter, doubtlefs becaufe that
feafon of the year is, as hath been already fhewn, attended with
very little pure cold, but rather with a raw air, and of courfe
with more rain than {now and hail.

SECT. XI.

25

As to the humidity of the air, rains being fo unufually frequent rains and

amps on thé

| d
at Bergen, and for fome miles round, as to be proverbial among wet-fde.

the Dutch; I apprehend the caufe may be derived not only from

the high mountains, there being in other parts of this diocefe te oes

much higher mountains, with much lefs rain, but rather from the
many narrow valleys and creeks in the neighbourhood, which be-
come foon filled with their own evaporations as well as thofe
from the fea, and thefe are not foon difpelled by the wind or fun-
fhine, except in the heat of fummer, when the fun has fufficient

power to draw them up into the open air above the fummits of

the mountains, there to be feparated and difpelled by the wind.
Whereas, on the contrary, in other feafons of the year, when the
power of the folar rays is weakened, the vapours cannot rife to any
confiderable height above the horizon *. Hence we fee them hover
like rain-clouds, and reft not only-on the tops of the mountains, but
often hang about their fides, infomuch, that the top may be clear,
and the middle of the declivity be covered with thefe rain-clouds :
and when travellers or peafants happen to be furprizedamong them,
which is a common cafe, their fight is fo obftruéted, as not to fee
their way; they breath with difficulty, grow wet and cold, and un-

* If the old opinion, of the fun’s exhaling the vapours upwards, fliould not prevail
againft the new, which holds, that fmall veficles of air are impelled upwards, and
being lighter than the lower air, float in it. Wolff’s Phyfic. Cap. v. Sect. 247. Yet
my conjecture on the rain at Bergen ftill keeps its ground; for the eminent naturalift
juft cited, allows that the winter-vapours are heavier, and as fuch fink lower into
the atmofphere, or cannot afcend fo high, the teguments of their {mall veficles be-
ing then condenfed, fo that the effect produced is the fame. His words are, Seé. 2 54s
<« ‘The vapours being rarified in the heat of fummer, they then rife to a great height
in the air:” Again, “ the groffer vapours, having a thick tegument and a {mall ca-
vity, are heavier, and remain in the lower region of the air, this being of a more
denfe nature than the upper; thus in winter, the vapours being condenfed by the
cold during that feajon, remain in the lower parts of the atmofphere.

: lefs

rgen, fig. 1.

26

The wife dif.
eee of

rovidence in
this.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
lefs they {peedily reach the open air their health is endangered. Thefe

rain-clouds are like {fpunges fwelled with water, and on any pref-
fure, or when driven againft the mountains, difcharge their waters
in heavy rains, and caufe that conftant humidity *. On this ac-
count, indeed, Bergen is not fo pleafant to live in as feveral other
places in Norway are; and the women, who feldom have the ufe
of coaches, are in all weathers obliged to wear a woollen or filken
black veil over their heads, whilft the men fecure themfelves from
the rain by rain-hats, made like umbrellas.

SEG T.. XIIL
As oné of my chief views in this work is, according to my

fhallow. knowledge and infight into the harmony of things, to
fhew that all the works of God are full of loving kindnefs, I
muft here obferve that the moift and rainy weather, which pre-
vails all over the weftern coaft of Norway, but chiefly about
Bergen, is excellently adapted to the necefiities of the country,
and in feveral, refpe&ts contributes to its welfare. Firft, it is of
gteat benefit to the countryman in his corn and hay-harveft, for
the thin furface of earth on the high rocky mountains, which
line the weftern coaft, requires a great deal of moifture, other-
wife it would not yield even grafs, and much lefs would it
produce corn; it would literally anfwer to the parable of the

feed, which fell on a rock and withered away, becaufe it lacked

* Edward Dapper, in his voyage to Africa, page 56—58, thus accounts for the
heavy rains in Ethiopia, which caufe the famous inundations of the Nile, ‘* the fun-
beams, fays he, exhale the vapours ; afterwards the middle air, which is cold, and
adheres to the cold fummits of the mountains, diffipates the clouds which the north-
wind has ageregated, or difcharges them in rain.” What this writer attributes folely
to the north-wind, profeffor Kraft, on better grounds, judges to be an effect of that
attraétion which is moft difcernible on high mountains, but in fome meafure affects
the whole globe, which revolving like a wheel, has an attractive power : His words
are thefe, ‘* I have often obferved in fair weather the high mountains to be covered
with a thick cloud, ‘as foon as there is the leaft hazinefs in the air, and from hence
it is that in mouritainous countries, the rains are both more frequent and more vio-
lent, than in a champain country.” The fingle caufe of this, is, the attraction of the

- mountains, for the attractive power of large mountains, may in ,fome meafure be

proportionate to the attractive power of the earth; therefore when neither of thefe
attractions are impeded in their operations, and the proportion is adjufted, the di-
rection in which a particle floating in the air moves towards the mountain may be
determined. ‘This is proved from the ingenious obfervation made by Meff. Bou
ger and de la Condamine, on a mountain called Chimborago, in Peru, when their
plummet was by the mountain drawn afide from its perpendicular direction. The
fprings found on the tops of mountains are produced by this attraction; and as many
particles of matter as are {een in conneétion, fo many inftances are there of this at-
traétive power. Reflections on the Newtonian and Cartefian Syftems, by profeflor
Kraft, in Actis Soc. Hafnienf. Tom. 111. p. 284. fq. |

I mncift ure

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

\ moifture. Thus thefe deficiencies, in refped to vegetation, are fup-
plied by the sain which continually moiftens the little earth
we have. Indeed, in moft places, the rain would not be fufficient
without the mafies of fnow on the tops of the mountains, or
when thefe are wanting, the many pieces of flanding-water on
their ridges, which fometimes by fubterraneous oofings, fome-
times by gentle ftreams, thoroughly water the earth, and afford a
conftant refrelhment to the parched fides of the mountains.
Whereas, in the vale of Guldbrand, and other parts where the
rains are not fo frequent, and the mountains not fo fteep or
thick fet as here, the water is conveyed into the fields by trenches,
and thrown upon the cultivated ground with thovels, as is prac-

_ tiled im Perfia, and other hot countries. A fecond benefit of this
wet and rainy weather, efpecially when calm withal, and chiefly
in {pring, is, that it gives fifhermen the advantage of larger
draughts; for in clear and open weather the herrings, fkates, &c.
which are every year taken here, and in N ordland, to the amount
of many tuns of gold, are generally fhy of venturing near the
fhore, and into the bays, but in rainy or hazy weather, the fither-
men meet with numberlefs fhoals of them.

29°

SECT. XIV.

In the preceding articles, I have thewn the diverfities of the nor=

thern air, in refpeé& to cold and heat, froft and thaws, both in

thofe provinces which are equidiftant from the line, and in the

eaft and weit parts of the country, and it is the fame in refpect

to fogs and rains, Filefield ufually makes a very remarkable dif-

ference betwixt us and our neareft eaftern neighbours, in the pro-

vince of Valder, infomuch that when it is foul weather with them,

with us it is fair, and fo vice verfa. The courfe of the air, when
impelled againtt the higheft mountains, is checked, for it feldom |
afcends.to pafs over them. Of this I was an eye-witnels in my Diversity of
return from Chriftiania In 3749, when travelling on the 24th heaenrn
of June over the higheft part of thofe mountains, I obferved chen“
thick rain-clouds hanging over Valders, which we had left,

and where it had been rainy for feveral days ; upon the hill

we had a little fleet, but in the valley of Laerdale, where

we arrived at our defcent from the mountain, the weather was
Part 1. I

I | warm

28

Deep fnows
on the meun-
tains; their
advantages
and detri-
ment.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

warm and dry, and had been fo for a confiderable time before. -
But this cafe is common to N. orway, with other mountainous coun-
tries, which I fhall here take occafion to illuftrate by fome parallel
inftances: Weare informed *, that whilft the fummer feafon lafts,
from cape Comarin to the coaft of Coromandel, it is winter during
that time, from Diu to the aforefaid cape. In like manner, on one
fide of the mountain called Gates, or Ballagates, the fields are
cloathed in their verdure, and the country appears in all the
gaiety and luxuriancy of fummer; whilft, on the other, it is co-
vered with fogs and rain. Something fimilar to this is alfo ob-
ferved from Ormus to Cape Rofalgate, where the {hips may har-
bour and enjoy the moft delightful weather imaginable, whereas
beyond the cape they meet with hard gales, rain, &c. A further
account of thefe remarkable particulars the reader may meet with
in Paul van Caarden’s voyage to the Eaft Indies. |

SE Gor. Xv.

From the confideration of the rain, Iam naturally led to fpeak
of the fhow, efpecially as both are the fame in fubftance, differ-
ing only in texture and figure, which depend on the warmth or
coldnefs of the air, as I myfelf experienced in coming down a
mountain, where, till about half way, we had fnow, but a little
lower the flakes of {now were melted into drops of rain. Now in
Bergen thefe {nows feldom lie long; for it muft bea very extraor-
dinary winter, when the fledges are ufed a fortnight fucceflively ;
whereas in the other northern provinces the fnows are very thick and
lafting, and lie long; and on the fummits of the mountains, or
in the cavities far north, which are inaccefflible to the fun-beams,
the fnow lies throughout the whole year; and the contraft be-
twixt the lively verdure of the fields and the gliftering whitenefs of
the mountains is not difagreeable. The upper region of the air,
(where the atmofphere being thinner than near the earth, the
fun-beams are lefs intercepted and reverberated) is always ex-
tremely cold, even in the warmeft countries. This is the cafe in
Switzerland and Italy, and even in Perfia, according to Taver-

* Concerning this I refer the reader to the northern voyages with Mr. Robert
Boyle’s Inftructions for travelling with advantage, where we find the above obferva-
tions on the difference of the air in hot countries at a {mall diftance from each
ether.

2 nier,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

nier; and in Ethiopia, according to Ludolph and others, the tops
' of the mountains, as here in Norway, are covered with {now both
in winter and fummer. In fome places far north the undermoft
lays of {nows, by long lying, turn to a bluifh ice, called in our
language, Jifbrede, which fometimes flides down to a confiderable
diftance over the lower grounds, to the no {mall detriment of the
peafants. In Juftedale, which lies high among the mountains,
one of thefe Jifbredes, detached from an ice-mountain, deftroyed
fome farm-houfes and lands, and further damage is yet to be ap-
prehended *. | |
However, both here, and in other parts, efpecially in the
eaftern, the fnow is highly beneficial to the peafants, partly in
forming a paflable road in the winter, without which all trafhie
and intercourfe with the champaign country would be cut off ;
yet here they are often obliged to put on their Truviers + (a kind
of fnow-fhoes, broad and round, made of withies, for keeping the

feet from finking in the fnow) and fometimes they muft even be
put on the horfe’s huvfs. Another contrivance for travelling on

the fnow are fkies, or long and thin pieces of board, and fo
{mooth, that with them the peafants wade through the fnow with
all the expedition of {hips under full fail. In war time a corps of
4. or 600 of thefe fkie-men are very ferviceable as light troops,
for reconnoitring, procuring intelligence, or for any fudden en-
terprize ; no place being inacceflible to them, and they being
always fure of coming upon the enemy by furprize. The fhow
alfo improves the fertility of the foil, and is fuppofed in {pring,
to anfwer the ends of manuring ; it likewife ferves for a fence
and fhelter againft fevere colds and winds. When the fnow is
not off the ground early enough in the fpring, for the hufband-
men to begin the work of that feafon, they {pread over the fnow
a kind of rich black mould, which, in a few hours, entirely dif-
folves it. But, on the other hand, the peafants are often fufferers
by the fnow, which, when it falls in great quantities, and lies

* Nix jacet et jaétam nec fol pluvieq; refolvunt.
Indurat Boreas perpetuamq; facit. Ovip.

_ + Some entertaining accounts of thefe Truviers, or fnow-fhoes, which in other
parts are alfo called Rackets, are to be feen in Hennepin, Tom, 1, cap. 27. and in
the feveral hiftories of the countries and nations of America,

long

29

30 NATURAL HISTORY of WORWVAY

long on the ground, deftroys thoufands of young trees: like-
wife when it fatls late in the fpring, and after the trees begin ta
put out their leaves, which, however, happens very rarely, fome
trees, and efpecially the alders, wither and die; a prognoftic of
which is the leaves turning to a brownifh hue. * It has been known,
and particularly in the year 174.2, many people were eye-witnefles
of it, that a fpecies of black maggots fell along with the fnow,
whereby extreme damage-was done to the grain and pafture. But
among the mifchiefs occafioned by fnow, the ereateft are the
Snow-falss Snee-fkreed, or Snee-fond, that is, when a mafs of {now, falling
from. a precipice, overwhelms both men and cattle, overfets boats
in the lakes *, and, which is but too often the cafe, demolifhes
cottages and houfes, infomuch that even whole villages are born
down, crufhed, and totally deftroyed ; but this laft calamity is
rather an effect of the incredible: violence of the wind, dri-
ving on the mafles of fnow, when they begin to give way, than
of thofe mafles themfelves, houfes having been feen to fall fome
feconds before the {now had reached them. Thefe fnow-falls are
of two kinds; the firft, when in frofty weather the light fnow is
fuddenly fet in motion, and in its progrefs feattered over all the
country, which the peafants call Meel-fond, and is not attended
with fuch damages as the other, which is known by the name of
Kremfond; thefe happen, when by the mifts and rains in fpring,
the fnow, which by moifture is confolidated, falls in a mafs,
which, tho’ flower in its defcent, leaves ftronger impreflions on
the fides of the mountains, bearing down every thing in its way,
even the ftrongeft new buildings. |
Awholepa- By a {now-fall of the firft kind, a whole parifh, fituate between
ari Quindherret and Hardanger, a century or two ago (for the pre- .
cife time is not certainly known) was wholly covered, and fo re-_
* Thefe accidents it feems are not unknown in Switzerland: ‘ Souvent il tombe
du haut des montagnes des mafies de neige prodigieufes, que les allemans appellent
Lawinen et les Romains Avelanches, qui tombant avec impetuofité, font un bruit
-auffi grand que celui du tonnere. Non fewlentent elles enveloppent gens et betes,
mais elles entrainent et emportent des arbres et des maifons entieres. Le poete Clau-
dien qui vivoit au. iv fiecle, nous apprend qu’on connoiffoit deja ces chofes de fon
ol multos haufere profunde
Vafta mole nives, cumque ipfis fzepe Juvencis

Naufraga candenti merguntur plauftra Barathro ;

Interdum fubitam glacie labente ruinam

Mons dedit, &c. Delices de la Suiffle, Tom. 1. p. 27.

manis

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
miains to this day; the fmow which had thus fallem from the ad-
_jacent mountains, not diffolving the year after, was further gra-
dually increafed, and hardened by lying, the fituation being high,
and hemmed in among the mountains. Many lives were loft in
this difafter, of which no memorial would remain, were not the
truth of the ftory, which was at firft much doubted, ftill con-
firmed by feveral utenfils, as {ciflars, knives, bafons, &c. brought
to light by a rivulet which runs under the fnow; an inconteftable
evidence that this {pot was formerly clear of fnow, and inhabited.
Such difafters, God be praifed, are feldom heard of; and the per-
petual fnows which always cover the fummits of the higheft moun-
tains, may, notwithftanding, be juftly faid to be rather neceflary
and advantageous, than abfolutely detrimental; and thus may be
reckoned among the bleflings of providence. Experience {fences
all cavils on this head, the {now being known, by age, to be-
come fo firm and indurated, that a horfe’s {hoe makes no impref-

fion on it; and as it yields very gradually to the fun, it is thus {par-

ingly difpenfed for the daily benefit of the inhabitants beneath,
except in a damp foutherly wind, which penetrating the fhow,
the mountains pour down whole torrents. Thefe accumulated
fhows thus become conftant {prings for promoting vegetation in
the champaign grounds, and when thefe {prings are too early ex-
haufted, the grafs and corn inevitably fuffer, and are fometimes
withered for want of moifture. Another convenience of thefe cur-
rents, and likewife of their impetuous defcent, is, that they drive
oreat numbers of little mills, every farm-houfe * having its own
mill. A third advantage of them redounds to the oxen, cows,
fheep, and goats, which in fummer are turned out upon the
mountains for pafture, where they are fo extremely tormented with
the heat, with gnats and mufketoes, that they run about regard-
lefs of danger, and in this frenzy many have loft their lives, fall-
ing down the precipices; this lays the pceafants under a necef-
fity, where no {now is near, ‘of building fheltering places for the
cattle ; but if any {now-hill be in fight, the cattle move towards

* In the eaftern provinces, which are lefs mountainous, the people not ont la-
bour under a great fearcity of water, but in feveral parts, the mills are at a oreat
diftance ; but this evil might be remedied, if hanging wheels were ufed inftead of

fixed ones; there are but few places where a fufficient water might not be found for
thofe, which require fo much lefs than the others now in ufe.

4) Paar? if,

34 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
it, knowing they fhall there be relieved by the coolnefs, which:
it communicates to the air. A further remarkable inftance of di-
vine goodnefs in this cafe is, that juft as far as the fnow melts, and
runs from the mountains, the very beft grafs is obferved to grow,
and in the greateft plenty; its warm covering, fo far from being
an obftruction, both forwarding and improving it. Such are the
effects of infinite power, wifdom, and goodnefs, even where at
firft fight they are leaft expected..
SE -C:T. XVI. | |
Regular and It will not be improper to fubjoin fome account of what I have
win collected in my annual circuits, by my own experience and that
of others, relating to the winds in Norway. The winds which
moft prevail here at Bergen, and all along the weftern coaft, are ’
the fouth, fouth-weft, and fouth-eaft, which laft is ufually called
the Land-South. And in moft winters, when on the other fide of
the mountain called Filefield,’ the north, the eaft, and north-eaft
winds ufually bring on and continve the hard frofts, they feldom
laft a fortnight on the north of the mountains called Nordenfield,
towards the fea. Here we generally enjoy a foutherly wind, which
together with the warm vapours, are, as I have already obferved,
fubfervient to the provident end of the Creator, in keeping open
the fea for the fifhermen, and warding off the feverity of the
winter, of which we have lefs than they who live in the middle
of Germany 3 altho’, in exchange, we have rain and foul wea-
» ther, which is not fo pleafant as’a clear froft. It is feldom that
the wind here is dire@tly weft, it is generally fouth-weft, or fouth-
eaft, which fills the creeks with the fea-vapoursin abundance, which
afterwards, floating among the mountains, become rain-clouds. A
north, north-weft, and efpecially a’ north-eaft wind, are little
known here; but when they blow, they verify the words of Solo-
mon, Zhe north-wind driveth away rain. |
The eaft winds, which frequently. come ea the fhore, an
drive the watry clouds out of the creeks, are’ befides very tempe-
-- rate, and fo are accounted the moft falubrious winds, and are the
more welcome to us, as ufually caufing: dry weather,, but on, the
‘contrary, fouthward, beyond the mountains, they commonly bring

rain. The inhabitants of thé large province of Nordland, who,
in

\ >
NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 33

in not lefs than two hundred barks, vifit Bergen every year, at the
fair and the aflizes, and moft of whom have upwards of an hun-
dred leagues to fail, are often favoured with the north and fouth
winds, like regular trade-winds, though not fo infallibly to be de+
pended on, ‘The wind which is, with the greateft certainty, ex--
pected towards harveft, is the north-eaft, called Hambakke, which
name it derives from the melting of the fnow at that time from the
fummits of the mountains; but there is alfo here, in fummer time,
and in a clear fky, another kind of a daily trade-wind along the
coaft, and in the creeks, ‘known by the general appellation of
Soelgangs-Veyr, the weather of the fun’s courfe ; and in North-
land, Soelfar-Vind (the wind of the fun’s courfe) the wind
then following the fun. Nic. Hartfoeker attributes this alterna- Conca
tive to the fun, which in the morning heats the coaft, and confe-p.65.
fequently rarifies the air, but on its declenfion in the evening, the
air cools, and confequently recovers its gravity, and being thereby
become heavier than the fea-air, its own weight carries it thither,
and occafions a kind of ebb and flood in the air, the fluid parts
whereof undergo the fame agitation as water *. A little before
noon in the fummer time, comes on a welt, fouth-weft or north
weft breeze, and holds till towards midnight; it is called Hafgul,
(fea-cooler) as coming from the fea, and indeed it tempers the heat,
which otherwife in the creeks and narrow valleys, would be infup-
portable. Oppofite to this is the Landgul (land-cooler) or eafterly
breeze, which beginning at midnight, or two hours after, continues
till’ within two hours of noon, when it ufually ceafes;. towards har-
veft the land-cooler begins to get the afcendant,. and the fea-cooler
to relax, and then the former is called the Korn-mioen, i. e. Corn-
mother, bringing a fenfible warmth along with it.

Befides thefe regular winds, the coaft is fubject to Field-flagers eS
(mountain fqualls) or eufts from the land, by which, without the

* To thefe viciMfitudes of the fummer winds, which are in fome degree regular,
is applicable what Afriftotle’s difciples write of the Etefize, which were known if
Greece, ‘* Quod ad Etefias attinet, caufam harum ajunt effe refolutionem nivium
in hyberboreis fuppolaris regionis montibus, qu uti 4 folis radiis verberate atque
in exhalationes refolute, interdiu ventorum fuppeditabant materiam, ita noctu dicta
nivium refolutione cum fole quibufdam quafi induciis conftitutis, ventos partiter
filere cogebant.” Athan. Kircherus in mundo fubterr. P. J. L. rv. Seét. 1. cap. rey.
p. 196, Likewife Dr. Arbuthnot in his Treatife of the Effects of the Air upon the
Human Body: ‘* The winds, when ftrong, correfpond to each other; but, when

they relax, they differ, as this proceeds from local caufes. It is alfo clear that the
Alpine fnhows influence the weather in England, as well as that at Zurich.”

utmoft

Hoarricanes
and whirl-
winds.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

utmoift precaution a veflel is fuddenly loft in the fecurity of fine
and calm weather; for thefe blafts iffuing in a narrow and violent —
current from the clefts of the mountains, or from the vallies, be-
hind a cape, or from the points of the high mountains, and being
violently impelled agaift an oppofite mountain, this reverbera-
tion caufes a kind of hurricane in the air, which, for a time, may
deprive the unwary of his fight *. :

But the real hurricanes, or whirlwinds, which arife, though
feldom on the open fea, are known to be extremely dangerous to
{hips, by their fudden and rapid vortex, which throws the fea
at a {mall diftance into fuch an agitation, that the water in drops
flies up into the air like fmoke. The common people, from an
old fuperftition, call them Ganfkud, conceiting that a necro-
mancer, of Fin-lapland, has then fent out his Ganfly, as they
call it, to do mifchief; but the true caufe of the hurricane, is the
fudden explofion of a wind confined and agitated in a thick cloud,
which being impetuoufly difcharged upon the water, the furface
is feparated, and rifes up into the air like duft or fmoke, and
hence, amongft us, this hurricane is very properly called Roeg-

-flage, i.e. fmoke-fquall.

Water-fpout.

I {hall take this occafion to mention another wonderful phe-
nomenon of the air, which likewife proceeds from denfe, and vio-
lently agitated clouds, not as any thing new and unknown in the
warm climates, but as being, however, fomewhat rare, and by
experience very well known in the north. I mean the water-_
fpout, or Trompe de mer, of whicha credible perfon, who fpent
his younger years at fea, gave me the following account; that on
the wide fea, betwixt Shetland and Norway, he and his crew, to
their great aftonifhment, obferved, in clear weather, and an eafy
breeze, a cloud gradually defcending towards the water, and in
the fhape of a funnel, or rather a {piral {nail-fhell, attracting from
the furface of the fea a column of water of a confiderable diame-
meter ; and this fuction continued all the time they were in fight.
Some hours after came on a very violent rain, which, unqueftion-

* Whether it be poffible that a man and horfe may be carried forward by fuch a
whirlwind, and driven back by another ftronger wind meeting him, without any
damage to either man or horfe, muft reft upon the authority of a very credible
writer, Mr. Lucas Debes, in his Defcription of the Ifland Faro, p. 97.

3 ably

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. i"
ably confifted of the water; which that {piral cloud had a little

before exhaled from the fea *,

Filled with aftonifhment at the many and ftupendous works of conctufon.
the Almighty (efpecially in the air and its phenomena) I clofe
this fubject with his own words in the xxxviiith chapter of Job,
verfe 24, &c. By what way is the light parted which fcattereth
the eaft wind upon the earth? Who hath divided a water-courfe
for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightening of thun-
der? To caufe it to rain on the earth where no man is, on the
wilderne/s, wherein is no man 2 To Jatisfy the defolate and wafte
ground, and to caufe the bud of the tender herb to {pring forth ?
Fath the rain a father ? or who hath begotten the drops of the

dew? out of whofe womb came the ice? and the hoary froft of
heaven, who hath gendered it ?

GHAPTER JH.
Of the foils and mountains of Norway.

Sect. I. Of the foil of Norway in general. Sect. Il. Several kinds of foil;
as mould, clay, Jand, turf, mud, Gc. Secr. Il. Two kinds of mountains,
Sect. 1V. Extenfive chains of vaft méuntains, as Koelen, Seveberg, Dofre,

_and Filefélds StcCT.V. Many lefer mountains in all the provinces.
Sect. VI. Deep and long cavities, like fecret pafjages, in fome mountains,
with conjectures on the origin of them. Sucv. VII. Effect of the deluge in

“diffelving and foftening fubfances, which are at prefent of the hardeft kind,
but appear manifeftly to have been foft heretofore. Sect. VIL. The origin of

mountains, rocks, and fmaller fiones, deduced from the foregoing argument.

Sect, IX. Detriment of fo many rocks and mountains to Norway. Spor. X.
Advantages of them, according to the wife and. bountiful defign of the Creator.

SEO kT I.
fi & HE diverfity which I have fhewn in refpect to the air, of the earth

a ey , 2. : ° d foil of
light, heat, cold, rains, and winds of Norway, is no lefs Nonway in

obfervable in the various foils of the earth, in the mould, fand, ies iS

_* Mr. Lucas: Debes, p. 12, of his Defctiption of Férro, fays, that fuch a cloud,
amonft the Greeks, called Typhon, and among the northern people Oes, for it ab-
forbs the water, making a deep vortex in the fea, drew up fome lafts of herrings,
and afterward dropt them. on Kolter, a mountain about twelve hundred feet in’
height, page 14. He imagines that it is thefe Oefes which in Norway attract {tones,
flefh, mice, and, what is more remarkable, lambs; and afterwards throw them down
again; of which a further account will be given in its place.

Parr I, rocks,

36

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

rocks, ftones, and mines. Thefe I thall treat of according to my
ability, till fome fuperior pen gives a more perfec&t account of
them, to which this imperfeé Effay may prove an inducement.
As the mountains of Norway, in general, confift of rocks, in-
ternixed with quarries of marble, free-ftone, fand-ftone, flate,
mill-ftone, &c. which, towards the fea, are almoft {tripped of
earth, by the force of the winds, and in the creeks, and further

_ inthe country, are covered indeed with earth, but not more than

The foi of

, feveral kinds.

a few yards deep, and very often lefs, one would be apt to think,
that below this flender covering, the whole kingdom of Norway
is but one folid ftone, only of a different nature, figure, and
height. But the error of fuch a conclufion is evident, not only
from the many deep creeks running up the country, but frefh-
water lakes, fwamps, and fens, in fome of which, though founded
with lines of feveral hundred fathoms, no bottom has ever been -
found. And to this may be added, that however mountainous.
and cragey Norway in general is thought to be, yet it affords
many champaign well cultivated traéts of fix, eight, or ten leagues,
and more in extent, as Jedderen, the lordfhip of Nedenaes, He-.
demark, and other parts, which are a confiderable exception to the’
general rule. AL Ste | et
a Els SOE OT Oe RAE 4 af 2
The foils, as in other countries, are very different here, con-
fitting of a black mould, fand, loom, chalk, gravel, turff, mud,
&c. In many places, when the inhabitants are digging deep for
a {pring in dry ground, all thefe kinds are found lying over each
other in unequal ftrata, and three or four fucceflions of them.
The black mould which generally lies uppermoft, is exceed-
ingly fine and mellow, and fit for all forts of vegetables ; info-
much, that if not damaged by the cold, which feldom happens
in the diocefe of Bergen, the hufbandman-finds his labour amply
compenfated; for the ground yields five, fix, or feven fold, and
fometimes even more. His harveft confifts for the moft part of. .
barley and oats, with fome rye, and here and there peas and
buck-wheat ; but of thefe I fhall treat more fully when I come

to the vegetables, or produéts of the earth... I have only to add

here concerning the foil of Norway, that betwixt the mountains,

and in the diocefe of Bergen, it moftly confifts of an aflemblage
| | of

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

of fuch earth as from time to time hath rolled down with the
fragments of the rocks, or been wafhed off from the mountains,
and fettled either at the foot of the mountains, or on the fides,
and by thefe acceflions the vallies in many parts have been con-
fiderably raifed. This appears evidently from one remarkable cir-
cumftance, that the fields in the vallies are naturally formed like
a camp, the regular eminences and gentle flopes looking like the
ramparts of a fortification. A {trong inftance of this, is the famous
valley of Viig in Sognefiord, and Eidet in Nordfiord, where, a
ftranger, at firft, would imagine the corn fields, as they lie raifed
above each-other, to be fo many batteries erected. by art, though
with fome irregularity. All thefe terrafles have gradually rifen
from fragments of rocks, and eruptions of {prings, which have.
repaired the lofs and damage fuftained in fome places, by depo-
fiting the foil in other adjacent parts in thefe regular fquares,
which were thus formed by the light earth and fand, brought
thither by the courfe of the waters *. |

The fand of Norway is feldom of the white kind, which is at
the fame time the fineft, but it is ufually brown or greyith; and
that on the fea-fhore is of the coarfeft, being rather particles of
ftone, as may indeed be faid of all grains of fand, but particu-
larly of thefe, their fubftance being fo hard that they are not
fo eafily diffolved, nor fit to be ftrewed about like the other.
The little fine or white fand we have in Bergen, is never pure,
but very much mixed with powder of mufcle-fhells, that is, with
the fineft chalky fubftance. |

Syndfiord, Juftedale, and fome other parts afford a kind o
fhining fand, as if mixed with antimony, or with iron or tin-duft.
This is moftly ufed for writing-fand, and as fuch exported.
Tavernier, Chap. xxiii. p. 284. of his Travels to Perfia, relates,
that the Portuguefe carried fome of this glittering fand from Ormus
to Lifbon, and at firft made cent per cent of it; but this trade
being founded on a falfe expectation, foon came to nothing. The

* Relative to this is the following paflage from Baron Leibnitz’s Protogza,
Sect. xxxix. pag. 71. Cetera ingentium nature: mutationum veftigia non nihil tan-
gamus, habitatoribus fortafié antiquiora, Non illis tamen immorabimur que in no-
{tris oris exprefla non habentur. A®gyptum Nilo, Arelatenfem agrum Rhodano
deberi Ariftoteles et Peirefkius credunt ; Nannius Bataviam munus effe Borew Rheni-
que. Certe flumina materiam advehentia fpoliant fuperiores terras, frifiique quoti-
die noftris detrimentis ditantur.

ufual

37

48

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA4Y

ufual grains of fand, -or little round fmooth and pellucid ftones,
are fuppofed, by Mr. Buffon, in his Natural Hittory, lately pub-
lifhed, to be only glafs particles grinded, or a vitreous fubRance,
the remains of the great univerfal diffolution, and of the vitrifica-
tion confequent thereupon, which our earth appears formerly to
have undergone: But on this we fhall enlarge in the fequel.

Clay, both yellow and blue, is to be found in the creeks, but

_in greater plenty every where further up the country, particularly

in Hedemark, and near Chriftiania and Drontheim, where they
have lately begun to ufe it for earthen-ware, and if the fame

_ manufacture was carried on in other parts of the country, we

might have a fufficient fupply without importations from abroad.
It is not much ufed for bricks, as moft of the houfés are built of
timber, or of a kind of building-ftone, which the Dutch, and
other foreigners, bring hither as ballaft, and fell them here. How-
ever, clay will, by degrees, come to be ufed for tiling, efpecially
in the country, as the price of never, or birch-bark, which has
hitherto been the ufual covering for houfes, rifes every year, and
great numbers of trees fufter by the ufe of it. Other finer and
vicher clays of a dark brown and yellow colour, and ufed by
painters, are alfo met with in feveral places, and particularly at
Ringerige, is a kind of black clay, not inferior in its Gnenefs to
Terra-figillata, and by the peafants ufed as blacking.

-Turff, both brown and black, which is the beft, is found in
many parts, and chiefly where the wife Creator forefaw, that in
the courfe of time it would be moft neceflary, namely, in the
leffer and greater Peninfula’s, or Udoers (tracts of land projecting
into the fea to a confiderable extent, and joined. to the continent
only by a {mall neck) where the weft-winds hinder the growth of
woods, which are further thinned. by fhip-building, fo that with-
out turf, the peafants and fifhermen would be very much di- —
ftrefied, efpecially as they are obliged to fetch the greateft part
ef the timber for houfes and barks from the continent. Now, as
amonegft the turf, both here and elfewhere,. there are at the
depth of fome yards, branches and roots, and many very large, even
ftocks of firrs and pines, which the turpentine has preferved, this
fhews the earth to have been gradually filled and-as it were grown
up from a mixture ef leaves, twigs, mofs, reeds, and the like;

2 and

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 7 ee

and the fentiment of fome philofophers attributing to it a vegeta=
tive or felf-renewing power, by which it grows again, tho’ flowly *,
is confirmed by experience, the beft inftru@or; for fufficient in-
{tances of it appear in Denmark, Luncburg, Friefland, Holland,
England, and Picardy in France. On this occafion, I muft obferve,
concerning the large bodies and parts of trees fo frequently found
among this vegetating turff-ground, that they are not fuch con-
vincing teftimonies of the deluge, as fome account them; a
much better proof may be drawn from other foffils, which never
could be natives of the places where they are found; of this kind,
particularly, is that entire fkeleton of a whale, accidentally found Clg
in 1687, in Tiftedale, near Frederickfhall. It was buried with
earth and fand, at leaft 240 feet under ground.

The fwamps and marfhes, or Myrs, as they are called here, lie
both on the ridges-of the mountains, and in the vallies, at the
foot of the fteepeft precipices ; thefe, in many places, render the
roads very unfafe, they being paflable only in the drieft fummer
months, and fometimes not even then, unlefs a kind of caufe-
way is formed over them at the public charge, with thoufands of
logs and large pieces of timber laid acrofs the marfh, which are
foon rotten. In thefe places the ground is as foft as dough, yield-
ing and moving under the foot, there being, probably, beneath
‘thefe marfhes, an abyfs of ftanding water, which is thus weakly
vaulted over. Near Lefioe, in the diocefe of Chriftianfand, this
‘timber caufeway is carried on for near a mile, and if a horfe, or a
much lefs animal, happens to make the leaft wrong ftep, he finks
beyond recovery.

That there are coal-mines in Norway, and efpecially in the
diocefe of Aggerhuus, where the late governor Ditlef Wibe, a
gentleman ever attentive to the profperity and improvement of the
country, employed fome fkilful perfons in a fearch of them, not
altogether unfuccefsful, is what I have been informed of, but not
with a certainty to advance any thing pofitive on the fubjec.. The
yellow, clear, and ropy fubftance on the furface of the water in
_ * The excellent, though not infallible philofopher, Baron Leibnitz, falls into 2
miftake, when he fays, in his Protogea, Sect. xiiv. pag. 82. Torfam excifam re-
nafci nondum compertum eft, etfi aque advehant in vicinis locis jam natam. And

pag. 83, Longum effet expectare dum torfa renafcatur, nec forte hoc continget, nifi
in orbe alio poft Platonicam rerum revolutionem. '

Part I, M the

40

Two. forts of

mountains.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY
the fens, which is faid to be an indication of coal-mines, appears —
in great quantities in feveral places. If coal could be found in
thofe provinces, which are not overftocked with wood, it might
encourage the opening of more mines, the country almoft every

where abounding in metallic mines, befides thofe already wrought.

SECT. IU.

From treating of the low and level foil of N orway, we are na-
turally led to the mountains and rocks, with which the greateft
part of Norway is covered. For the more accurate defcription
of thefe they muft be divided into two forts; fome being general,
and extending themfelves thro’ the whole length of the country,
whilft others are {cattered about, or furrounded with a level coun-

try, tho’ many of thefe may be confidered as branches or excre-

fcences {pringing from the roots of the former.

SEG I) IN.

The firft fort of thefe mountains are fuch, as are properly called —
Juga Montium Concatenata, or a long continued chain of moun-
tains; the direction of them here is not tranfverfal, but from the
fouth towards the north pole *. M. Emanuel Suedenborg, in his
Mifcellanea Obfervata, p. 7 & 9, affigns the caufe to the winds
prevailing at the time of the deluge, which gave this pofition and
figure to the matter firft hardened: “ Obfervari poteft plerorum-
que horum montium dorfa a feptentrione verfus auftrum tendere,
&c. Extendi dorfa verfus auftrum et boream indicio eft, eofdem
ventos dominium tenuiffe in oceano diluviano, qui jam in noftra
oceano.” At the extremity of Finmark begins that ridge of high
and rocky mountains called Koele, inhabited by the wandering
Finlappers, who dwell fometimes on the weft-fide of the ridge
which belongs to Norway, and fometimes on the eaft-fide which
appertains to Sweden +. This ridge, which in its courfe goes by fe-
veral names, according to the feveral places contiguous to it, feparates
itfelf as it were into two arms; the firft of which, in its progref-

* This is contrary to the other European chains of mountains, which in Hungary,
Switzerland, France, and Spain, &c. run eaft and weft. But the American Cor-
dilleros, are in the fame direction as our northern. Buffon’s Nat. Hift. B. 1.
Article 9. . ee: oe

t+ A worthy acquaintance, who when young was a miffionary in Finmark, in-
forms me, that the Koelen ridge, in many places, breaks into large vallies, andcon-

fequently is not fo continued as further towards the fouth. and that it feldom reaches

above four leagues in a continued chain.

2 | fion,,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
fion, ferves almoft for a boundary betwixt the two aforementioned
northern monarchies, and is called Rudfield, Sudefield, Skars-
field *, or more generally Sevebierg, or the Seven mountains. The
modern Swedifh hiftorian, Olaus Dalin, in his hiftory of Sweden,
Tom. 1. p. 11. {peaks thus of the progrefs of the chain, ‘it pro-
cedes as it were under water from Gottenburg, to a promontory
_ in Jutland, called the Skager Riff, and forms a bank, or mound,
not fo deep as the fea about it, where is the beft fithing in all
thofe parts.” The other main arm of the Koelen chain, begins
likewife to change its name in the diocefe of Drontheim, where,
at fome diftance, it likewife alters its pofition for the {pace of ten
Norway miles, farft bending weftward, as far as Roem{dal, and after-
wards re-affuming its progrefs towards the fouth, betwixt the dio-
cefes of Aggerfhuus, Bergen, and Chriftianfand; and in the latter,
about three Norway miles from Lifter, terminates in a prodigious
precipice, the like of which is to be feen in very few parts of the
world. This arm, as has been obferved, goes under different appel-
lations, according to the adjacent countries, the firft is Dofrefield,
near Guldbrandfdall, then follow in order Lomsfield, Sognefield,
Filefield, Halnefield, Hardangerfield, Joklefield, Byelefield,
Hecklefield, and, laftly, Langfield, which laft is likewife a ge=
neral appellation comprehending the whole chain, as far as Dofre,
and is by fome called only Langfieldene, i. e, the long mountains,
This mountain it is which divides Norway into the diftri@ called
Soendenfields, i. e. the fouth mountains, comprehending the dio-
cefe of Aggerfhuus, and half that of Chriftianfand; and the diftrig
called Nordenfields, i. e, the northern mountain, tho’, with refpect

to its fituation, it might as well be called Weftenfields, i. e. Welt.

hill, confifting of the other half of the diocefe of Chriftianfand, and
thofe of Bergen and Drontheim. The height and breadth of this ex-
tenfive.chain are both very different, the mountain Hardanger being
fourteen Norway miles over, whereas Filefield, computing from
Laerdale, is {carce ten. Dofrefield is accounted the higheft moun-
tain of this country, if not of all Europe. Its perpendicular height
indeed is not eafily determinable, without calculating it by the

* Olaus Magnus, in Hift. Sept. Lib. 11. Cap. xit. fays, that an entrance or paf-
fage through it to the rocks was here cut out by the labour and induftry of man;

but this is very much doubted, and rather looked upon as a Somnium de porta
Eburnea ; at leaft it is what no Norwegian ever informed me of.

Baro-

At

4.2

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

Barometer; for the levels on the fide of the mountain, according
to Peter Undalin’s Defcription of Norway, in one place reach
eighteen Norway miles, and in another twelve; and the road is fo
winding, that in the winter-road, one meets no lefs than nine
times with the river called Drivaae, which winds in a {erpentine
form along. the fide of the mountain. The bridges acrofs this river
make a dangerous appearance, as they are laid over roaring ca-
taracts, or waterfalls, and but indifferently faftened to the {teep
rocks, which deters the better fort of travellers from chufing this
road, tho’ the fhorteft. The road over Filefield is the aaa one
Tam acquainted with from my own experience. This is a tedious
afcent, thro’ many windings, from Laerdale to the fummit of the
mountain, of about fix Norway miles-and a half, which in a per-
pendicular height towards Laerdale, may be computed at half a

“Norway mile, or gooo ells. A proof, among others, of the great
elevation of this mountain above the horizon of the champaign

country, is the change from heat to cold, which within a few
hours becomes fo fenfible, that the traveller may very well fup-
pofe himfelf fuddenly tranfported from a hot fummer to a piercing
winter. I croffed it on the 28th of May 1749, having the
day before, at my leaving Laerdale, obferved the barley to be in
fome forwardnefs, and in the narrow. vallies thereabouts, the heat

was fo fultry that at noon I was obliged to fhelter myfelf at

Borgen chapel: But after a few hours progrefs farther up the
mountain of Filefield, I found myfelf rifing as it were into the
upper region of the air, towards the pure and fubtle ether, and

as much in the depth of winter as if it had been new-year’s day;

furrounded with {now and ice, which were the more painful to
the eyes, as having fo lately enjoyed the pleafing verdure of the
fields and woods. The fun fhone out very bright, but with fo
little heat, that tho’ it was within three weeks of midfummer,
all the waters, and particularly the frefh-water lake there, called
Utreen, were frozen. I was very defirous of returning, being diffi-
dent of the aflurances of my guides, that the ice would: bear; for
as the fnow-water lay upon it, I apprehended it might give way:
However, I got over in my fledge-chaife, which, as is here cuf--
tomary, was drawn by peafants, and not by horfes.

Another

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

Another proof of the great height of this mountain, is the ex-
tenfive profpect from it, in clear weather; for from Soeltind, a
rock ftanding in the middle of the road, I had a view of the
cataract of the river Bang, in Valders, a diftance of about twelve
Norway, or fifteen Danifh miles, but on the other fide my eye
reached beyond Hallingdale, on the borders of Waas, confequently
the creft of this mountain affords a profpect of thirty Danifh or
German miles. Another proof of the prodigious height of this
mountain, is, that it caufes a very fenfible difference, in wind and
weather, betwixt the north and fouthifide, of which I have already
obferved in another place, that the inhabitants on this fide the
mountain feldom have the fame weather or air, as thofe beyond
it, the clouds, in ftriking againft the mountain, being repelled.
Hence alfo it is, that the winds, which in the diocefe of Agger-
fhuus caufe fair weather, in that of Bergen bring rain, and fo
vice verfa. ie |

The higheft parts of this whole chain of mountains are every
where fo fmooth and level, that if they were not conftantly covered
with fnow, carriages might travel much eafier than in the lower
parts, efpecially on the mountain near Hardanger, over which lies
the road to Kongfberg, along which road large herds of cattle are
driven, and great quantities of goods carried. But the utmoft cau-
tion is neceflary here, on account of the large chafms in the fnow,
which hath lain there before the memory of man, and is confoli-
dated; thefe chafms, in winter, are covered with loofe fnow, and
many perfons not being aware of them, have irrecoverably funk into
an abyf{s, from whence the only chance of an efcapeé, is thro’ holes
made by the birds for their retreat*; therefore part of the moun-
tain towards Quenherret, being frequented by fowlers and fportfmen,
is therefore called F uglefang, 1. e. the place for bird-catching. Peter
Undalin, in his Defcription of Norway, p. 75; fays, that all tras
velling over this mountain is prohibited, except from the inven-
tion of the crofs, which is the third of May, to St. Bartholomew.
Over Filefield, which is the poft-road, and the road for. the king’s

* Such chafms in the frow a

trouve en divers endroits des montagnes de glace, &c. _ Les allemans les appellent
Gleticher nous les appellons des glacieres, &c, Il arrive quelques fois qu’elles fe
fendent de haut en bas, ce qui fait un bruit horrible. Souvent la neige couvre telle-
ment ces fentes que les voyageurs ne les decouvrant points y tombent et periffent,”*
Delices dela Suifle, Tom. 1. p. 23. ,

Parr I, N Catrri-

re alfo feen in the mountains of Switzerland: * fe

43

Ad. NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

" carriages *, the way is marked all along with pofts, at two or three
hundred paces diftance, that in fhowy or dark weather, the tra-
veller may not lofe himfelf in thefe defart wilds, where no living
creature is to be met with, except here and there a few rain-deer,
and which cannot be conftantly inhabited, unlefs by Finlappers,
who, as their dwelling is among the Koelen chain in Nordland,
and Finmark, 100 miles farther north, may live very commo-
dioufly here. In the valley called Smiddedal, there were for-
merly iron-works, but they have long fince been difcontinued,
fufhicient quantities of iron-ore having been found in other more
convenient places; for befides the fcarcity of birch and alder, the
extreme cold, and the fnow, with which the ground is covered.
nine months of the year, ftunt the growth of trees. :

Mountain- In fome meafure to relieve and refrefh the traveller, two

floves, | ! ne gh
mountain-ftoves, or refting-houfes, are maintained on Filefield at:
the public charge, and three on Dofrefield, and furnifhed with fire,
light, and kitchen utenfils. There is but one way of avoiding this
chain of mountains in the road from Sweden to Nurdenfields, where
it feems as it were interrupted by a long and deep valley, reaching
from’ Romfdale to Guldbrandfdale ; and this road many prefer in
their journies from the highlands towards the fea-coafts, to
Romfdale market with corn, butter, hides and furrs, which they
barter for fifh. It was in their march through this long defile,
that a body of 1000 Scotch, fent over in 1612, as auxiliaries to

-the Swedes, were, together with Sinclair their commander, put to.
the fword by the peafants of Guldbrand, who never give quar-
ter. In thefe precipices and narrow pafles confift the beft fortifica-
tions of Norway, and to them it was owing, that in the laft war
numbers of Swedes met with the fame fate as thofe Scotch; par-
ticularly, in the hollow-way near Krogkoven, where 200 men
were cut off by lieutenant Cocheron, affifted by the peafants.

es At a {mall diftance from the road is a chapel called St. Thomas’s, one of the
Votive-churches, as they are called, it having been an ancient cuftom, «in ficknefs,
or any other diftrefs, to vow-an offering there. There is {till a fermion once a year,
on the Vifitation of the Bleffed Virgin, which inftitution poffibly arofe from the
hiftory of this day, that Mary was gone early upon the mountain. Some fuperftitious,
tho’ poffibly, well meaning people, refort hither with their offerings, in difcharge of

their vows; whilft others make the journey, as the minifter complained, @ pretence
for caroufals, affignations, and all manner of licentioufnefs and diforders.

2EC T.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY,

5) Re ae ev’.

To the other clafs of mountains, according to my former di-
vifion, belong thofe which ftand fingle, and are difperfed over the
country, though they may in effeét be confidered as branches or
fhoots fpringing from the extended roots of the chains. Thefe,
likewife, are generally long in their form, and, like the others,

45

Many lefler
fingle moun-
tains in all the
provinces,

ftretch away from north to fouth, but with fruitful vales betwixt

them, watered with convenient rivers, by which the floats of tim-
ber are conveyed to the fea-fide for exportation. The inhabitants
find thefe little mountains much more convenient for dwelling, they

being exceedingly fruitful, the fides of them covered with fields and |

woods, whilft their fummits afford plenty of pafture for the cat-

tle and wild beafts; befides which, their bowels are treafures of.

filver, copper, iron, and other metals, which, both here and in
Sweden, are lodged in the fmaller, and not in thofe vaft moun-
tains; certainly a gracious difpofition of the Creator, to facilitate
the labour of mining. Tind and Gule in Tellemark, are {aid to
be the higheft mountains in that part, called Soendenfields. The

diocefe of Bergen, unqueftionably, derives its name (which figni-.

fies hills) from the height and great number of this clafs of moun-

tains, which are chiefly among the creeks, and on the fea-coaft,
and of thefe Siken, Ulrich, and Lyderhoorn, are the higheft in
this diocefe, though Meldifk in Rofendale, Smoer-ftak in Hougf
gield, Alden, or the horfe in Sundfiord, Hornel in Nordfiord,
Sneehorn and Skopfhorne on Sundmoer, Romdalfhorn, and.
others too many to be here enumer ated, are more diftinguifhed
by their height*. The perpendicular height of thefe fteep moun-
tains, according to appearance, and the report of the people liv-
ing near them, may be computed at betwixt 9 or 1200 yards,
confequently they are higher, than if ten common church-fteeples
were placed one over the other. Strabo thinks the meafure of the
higheft mountains in the whole world to be 30 ftadia; Kircher,
43; Pliny extends it-to 400, and Riccioli to 5125 but M;
_* Je is obfervable, that as many northern mountains are from their great height
called Horn, fome of the moft diftinguifhed mountains in Switzerland bear the fame
appellation, as Schreckhorn, Wetterhorn, Roemifchhorn, Buchhorn, &c. which

fhews mankind to agree univerfally in their images and metaphors, even where they
have no communication with each other.
3 Scheu

4.6

Philofophical

‘Tranfactions,

Vol. 35, Ne
hiv

See plate 11.

The Seven
Sifters.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY
Scheuchzer, in a particular tra@, fhews this meafure to be vattly
exaggerated. “phn pee te + TARGA amie

Lhe height of the higheft ‘mountains in Switzerland, which
Julius Cefar terms, fummias alpes, is according’ to his conjecture,
no more than 987 ells. Floeyfield, in the neighbourhood of Ber- |
gen, which, however, I do not imagine to be half fo high as
Hornel or Sneehorn on Sundmore, was by. a trigonometrical
menfuration performed laft winter, found to be 200 fathom, or
600 ells high; confequently, Ulrich, which ftands clofe by it,
cannot be lefs than 800 ells. oy et Sol Neucead nee

Some of thefe mountains are peculiarly remarkable for theirfigure .
and appearance. On the left hand, failing up Joering creek, one fees -
fuch a groupe of crefts of mountains, as refembles the profpect of a
large city, with towers and old gothick edifices, and fome of them
being continually covered with fnow, whilft the chafns in others
make a way for the light to penetrate, the profpeé fills a ftranger
with aftonifhment. Not far from thence, in the parith of Oerfkoug,
is the mountain called Skopfhorn, of which the mariners and fifher-
men have a view at 16 leagues diftance, when they have loft fight
of the reft. On the higheft creft of this mountain, it has the appear-
ance of a. complete well-built fort, or old caftle, with regular walls
and baftions. It is an old tradition, that a girl who was attending a
flock or herd, for a wager climbed up to the top, and according to
agreement, there blew her horn, but was nevet feen after ; upon
which, her relations, according to an ancient fuperftition, imagined
{he had fallen into the hands of the pretended fubterrancous in- '
habitants of the mountains. Perhaps the truth is, that the girl
was not fo fortunate in coming down as in getting up, and that
fhe fell into fome cavity, where her, body never could be difcovered.
Near Alftahoug, in the diftriét of Helgeland, is a range of moun-
tains of a very fingular afpeét, having feven high pinnacles, or
crefts, known by the appellation of the Seven Sifters, and which
are dilcernible fixteen. miles off at fea. A friend of mine, who
ventured “to the top of the higheft of thefe crefts, thinks their
perpendicular height to be fomething abovea quarter of a league™*.

* This appears a very extraordinary height, for one of thefe feparate hills, which:
have always. been accounted but fmall in comparifon of thofe of Dofre and File. E

_ have befides been informed by feveral maritime perfons, that towards the north, . the

height of the mountains, immediately beyond Sundmoer and Nordmoer, decreafes,,
ag it increafes after pafling Stavanger, and approaching towards Bergen.

3 in

et? View of the © Mountain of the eleven Sule near ee Ustaboug, Plontagne dey "J hdavy
La

Find +

Sepa ee Motes aru
se wal

F

Lhe Roch Oo eg orgeH alten CI Norway J
: 7, C.

s al ‘ast - fad is
fe Rec d« Verge Faken

®

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 47
In the fame diftri@ fouthward is the noted: mountain of pPotgiiats The mou”
ten, fo called from the likenefs of its top to a man’s head with hater. ”

the hat on, under which appears a fingle eye, which is formed hie
by an aperture, paflable throughout, an hundred and fifty ells
in height, and three thoufand in length, thro’ which the fun
may be feen; it likewife afford? a coarfe kind of agate,
but which will admit of a polifh. On the top of this mountain
is a piece of water, or a refervoir, of the dimenfions of a moderate
fifh-pond. The rain-water, which gathers there, trickles down
the mountain thro’ fiffures and ead on its fide. In the lower
part of this mountain is alfo a cave, full of rugged windings. A
line of four hundred fathom, being tried out of curiofity, to mea-
fure this hiatus, didnot reach the bottom ; and it was thought
too. dangerous to proceed. further.

Rook Gt Va,

Such fecret paflages, and wonderful caverns in the mountains, Deep and

are far fram being uncommon here. At Herroe in Sundmoer, sean Me
I heard much calle, from the common people, of a cavern called | eer
Dolfteen, and, as they are apt to magnify all fuch things by their jetes nan
own imaginations, they conceit that it reaches under the fea, all cere
along to Scotland. I defired the two minifters of the place per-

fonally to inform themfelves of the nature of it, and they accord-

ingly fent me the following written account.

‘«¢ Purfuant to our promife of taking a view of the cavern in Cavem in
the mountain of Dolfteen, we went thither on the 16th of July oa
1750; its entrance was the height of a full-grown man, and it Is
two fathoms in breadth; but we immediately ae it to in-
creafe in both dimenfions, even higher and wider than Herroe
church. The fides were perpendicular, like the wall of a houfe,
rifing into a kind of vaulted roof. It ftretched itfelf S$. W. and
N.E. till about the middle, where we met with a defcent like
the fteps of ftairs, and there it inclines more to the eaft, but this
deflection is not above three or four fathom long, when it again
falls into its north-eaft direction. On each fide, at the bottom of
thefe fleps, was as it were a bank of clay, on which we refted our-
felves, and at the end of thefe banks, likewife on each fide, was
a kind of door with an.oval top, but upon viewing it with our

Parr I. O lights,

48

NATURAL HISTORY of. VORW«AY.

_ lights, we found it to be but half an ell lower than the other part.

of the mountain. Hitherto the height and breadth continued as be-
fore; but now it began to contract itfelf, and at the fame time to
defcend lower. There we could hear the dafhing of the waves,
and the fea was at leaft an equal height with us, if not over our
heads. Soon after we came’to fome more {teps, but being not
inclined to venture further, we threw down a ftone, and heard
its eccho for the {pace of a minute; but whether it fell into the
water, or on the dry rock, we could not diftinguifh. Some conjec-
ture may be formed of the length of this cavern, from our having
burned two candles in our progrefs and return.”

Another remarkable inftance of a like fecret paflage in a moun-
tain, ¥ thall produce from my own experience. Hearing at the
parfonage of Oerfkoug, that in the diftrict of the annexed chapelry _
of Strande, not far from thence, a ftream had been found, which
iffued through a rock from the fide of a mountain called Limur,
and over it a cavern which probably followed the ftream, but of
the length of which I could procure no account; I refolved to
examine it myfelf, as on my vifitation to Nordal I was to pafs
near it. I furnifhed my‘felf with a tinder-box, candles, a lanthorn,
and a long line to ferve me inftead of Ariadne’s clue. My boat
put me afhore at the foot of the aforefaid mountain of Limur.
But it being extremely fteep, we were obliged to climb with our
hands as well as feet, and fometimes were hard put to it to clear

our way through the hazle and alder-bufhes. On the fide of this

Jaborious afcent, we met with a rivulet, ftreaming out, which di-

reéted us to the cavern. It is indeed fomething wonderful, being
a kind of natural conduit, formed purely by the force of the
water through the folid rock, which was a compound mafs,
moftly confifting of grey pebbles, but about the conduit, of a clear
orey marble with bluifh veins; had this natural ftru@ure been
raifed by human {kill, it would have been a work of no {mall ex-
pence, for a few paces after getting through the thicket, which
almoft hides the aperture of the cavern, one is furprized with a
vaulted paflage of pure marble, without the leaft flaw or breach,
but with feveral angles and protuberances, all fo polifhed, as if
it had been a patte mouldered into fmooth globular forms. About

dred paces forward, the paflage continues in a ftraight di-

a hun .
| rection,

-NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

rection, then winds off to the right with afcents and defcents,
and in fome places growing narrower, and in others widening to
double its former breadth, which, according to my admeature-
ment, was about four or five ells, and the height about three;
thus two perfons.could go abreaft, except that they were now and
then obliged to ftoop, and even creep, and then they felt a damp
vapour like that of a burial-vault. This prevented my penetrating
fo far as I had intended. Another thing remarkable, was the ter-
rible roaring of the waters under us, the courfe of which was what
moft excited my wonder, as over it lies. a pavement of {mooth
ftone, inclining a little like a vault on each fide, but flat in the
middle, and not above three fingers thick, with fome {mall cre-
vices, through which the water may be feen. If it be afked how
far this covered-wayreaches ? I make no queftion but its length
- is equal to the courfe of the {tream, and that it has been pro-
duced by the falling of the water, which in’ length of time, has

perforated thefe rocks agreeably to the ancient maxim,
Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, fed fepe cadendo.

And this is more particularly confirmed by the many projections
which have been levelled, or undulated figures, which, as I have
before obferved, are to be feen on the roof, and along the fides.
If it be afked again, where is the fpring of this ftream? the pea-
fants hereabouts fay, that on the uppermoft ridges of the moun-

tain, which is at leaft a hundred fathom high, almoft perpendicular

above the cavern, there is a ftanding-water of about a quarter of a
league in circumference, and unqueftionably formed and fupplied
by the-frequent acceffion of the rain, and the melted {now from the
other parts of the mountain. It is no difficult matter to judge
how the uppermoft dry vault comes to be of fuch a height over
the channel of the river, by which it is caufed; for the cavity in
its beginning could not have been fo high, but by length of time,
the ftream, of which the upper vault was then the bed, penetrated
to its prefent depth, and perforating the mountain, the particles
which it detached, as fand and gravel, fettled on the ground,
forming as it were a {mall and level pavement, which is now a

cover to that ftream, of which it had been the bed. Iam the’

more confirmed in thefe thoughts, by a fecond view I took of
~ this

+

5° NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

this cavern fome days after, on my return from Nordal, when F
ventured further in, though not fo far as two men whom I had
with me. We then perceived, by the help of a lanthorn, through
an aperture under our feet, that the ftream had made itfelf an-
other flat and fmooth bed of little ftones, or a gravelly bottom,
like that under which it now runs, confequently in time, it will
likewife penetrate through this new vault, which will then become
its roof, and thus in another bottom, proceed to lay the founda=
tions of another new vault : |

Tantum evi longinqua valet mutare vetuftas.

However eafily thofe caverns, through which there is a water-
courfe *, may be accounted for, yet it is more dificult to explain
the origin of the many dry caverns and fecret paflages in the
rocks, like that of Dolfteen, of which more inftances might upon
inquiry be found in other mountains. ‘The opinion that carries
the greateft weight with me, is that of Woodward, in his Theory
of the Earth, p. 85, that the whole mafs of terreftrial matter,
after its diffolution. by the deluge, and its fubfequent reunion,
was foon after, when dried and hardened, by fome fecret caufe in
the earth itfelf (a univerfal earthquake, or the like) again fepa-
rated and thrown into fuch confufion, that the feveral ftrata, or
layers, funk in fome places, and rofe in others: this naturally
gave the furface of the earth the appearance of a crackt or fhat-
tered building, with many chafms betwixt its ruins, ull at length
the earth fhall be entirely levelled.

SECT. VI.

EReas ofthe However true it be that this opinion of Woodward deferves the

deluge in the
dilfolationand preference, beyond any of the conjetures of Burnet, Whifton, or

foftening of
ietaniet Other theorifts on the effects of the deluge, yet it has not been

wich the exempt from oppofition, and particularly is combated by Elias
ea atts Camerarius, and but lately by Mr. Buffon. My reafon for adopting
Tae Wee here, is, that of all others, it moft facilitates the difcovery of
‘the origin, not only of the cavities, but of the mountains them-~
felves: He does not deny, as Burnet does, the exiftence of moun- °
‘tains and hills before the deluge, but is of opinion, that they.

* Of this kind is that fo remarkable cavern in the Peak in Derbyshire.
were

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
were all diffolved, and as it were liquified, and that the whole
terreftrial mafs, with its detached and intermingled parts, at laft
came to a coalition above the aby{s, in the form of a convex
vault, one ftratum above another, ftone, earth, fand, chalk, and
other fubftances, fubfiding quicker or flower, according to their fpe-
‘cific gravities; the feveral fubftances thus obtaining their collected
ftrata, the outward fhell of the earth was {mooth and level; and
Burnet, in his Theory of the Earth, holds this to have been the
ftate of things from the creation to the flood, when the water
broke up and demolifhed the fmooth fhell, and this difruption
mingling different bodies, threw all things into their prefent dif
order; though the wifdom of a divine ceconomy be ftill univer-
fally confpicuous. Woodward, in anfwer to the queftion, how
the furface of the globe, which, according to his opinion, was
rendered f{mooth by the deluge, fell into its prefent irregularity ?

how the middle or lowett ftrata were thrown uppermoft, and fuch

a general confufion prevailed? fuppofes, that-immediately after
the deluge, the abovementioned great change and diffolution *
took place, by which fome detached ftrata fteod with one. end
in the air, and the other fubmerged, that the place of the

deprefied was filled by the elevation of parts or fragments of dif-

ferent layers. Tho’ this be but an hypothefis, yet it appears to
me the only one, which accounts for and illuftrates what I have
moft wondered at, in my {peculations on the ftupendous ftru@ure
of our northern rocks, and particularly the ftrata of their different
parts. In thefe rocks, which are compofed of mafles very differ-
ent in colour and figure, it is plainly feen that the fubftances
thereof have been as it were. liquified,- and afterwards fubfided
ftratum fuper ftratum, yet not always horizontal, according to
the laws of motion and gravity, but rather in general, oblique, or
in various, and in fome places, even in perpendicular dire@ions.
The caufe of this pofition cannot be cleared up without admitting
the aforefaid opinion of Woodward, at leaft till fome more ratj-

* Several caufes of this may be alledged, but in my opinion this appears the moft
plaufible. As a new wall, if the foundation gives way ever fo little, cracks, and
even finks and fails to ruin; the like muft have happened foon after the food, when
this new mixture came to be dried; and this ficcity muft occafion crevices and aper-
tures in the lower part, and confequently in its upper furface, which neceffarily fol-

lowed the finking: foundation, upon the water diicharging itfelf from the other parts
into the ocean. |

Parr I. ‘vate onal

52 NATURAL HISTORY of VORITAY,

onal folution fhall be hit upon. What I oa: Wineue is, that this
learned and ingenious writer has not fulfilled his promiie fo often
repeated, of detbadtuating both the poflibility and reality of his
feveral hypothefes, and confirming them by experiments. He had
for this end projected a large work, of which’ his Theory of the
Farth-was to be only introdu@ory. The chief cbje@ien, which
I could have wifhed to have feen anfwered by him, relates to the
hard fubftance of ftones, which he takes for granted to have beefy
alfo diffolved and liquified. .
Conjeéture on . I afk, by what means this liquefaction was wrought at the
of thecath. time of the deluge? if recourfe be had to the fuppofed central
fire; from which the globe derives its levity, &c. and it be faid
that this by coction could diffolve the hardeft quarries of marble,
(the veins and ftreaks whereof fufficiently thew its former eae,
and the loco-motion of its parts, not to‘mention the heterogeneous
things found in it) then Noah and the animals in the ark muft
have fuffered, unlefs we take the liberty of forming a new hypo-
thefis, that ,this:co@ion was not univerfal at once, but afeSed
only a cértain part of the globe, and certain tracts of its furface *:
Strange and novel as it may appear, to aflign fuch a wehenicie
heat to the water of the deluge, yet this'was a very ancient traX
dition, if we pay any regard to the words attributed to the devout.
Pionius, who fuffered martyrdom in the year 250, under the
emperor Decius, and among other things {poke thus to his unbe-
lieving perfecutors, ‘* Ye yourfelyes, from your old traditions, ac-
knowledge that the deluge of Noah, whom you call et iices
was mingled with fire, yet do you but half underftand the real
truth of this matter.” Now though no great ftrefs be to be laid
thereon, yet is this conjeCture far from being fo improbable as that
of Burnet, who makes the chaos of our globe to have been the re-
mains or afhes of a confumed and vitrified comet, which by the
creation, acquired a new life, form, and difpofition fs
But

* Who knows whether any volcanoes exifted before the deluge, efpecially, whe-
ther it did not previoufly accumulate vegetable and animal fragments from the refi-
nous flime of the bottom of the fea, or at leaft great quantities of fuel, to the ful-
phureous and otherwife inexhauftible ore already depofited there ? Who at leaft will
difpute the probability that the fea, furnifhes fuel to thefe dreadful and inceflant fub-
terraneous fires, all volcanoes being near the fea. D. Joh. Friederich Henkel’s Pyri-
tologia, Cap. v. p. 308. feq.

iP “The celebrated naturalift Mr. Buffon, in feveral parts of Tom. 1: of his Natural
Hiftory, in fome meafure clofes with this hypothefis, tho’ he differs very much ye

nim

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 53

But whenever this fufion happened, or whether the Almighty
made ufe of it as a means or not, or whatever means he chofe for
that end, for I do not concern myfelf with thofe chimeras; yet
nature and experience fpeak fufficiently plain to the point, and
thew firft * the poffibility of it, no kind of ftone whatever,
whether pebble, marble, or flint, having ever been of fuch a
hardnefs, as not to be capable of being refolved into its moft mi-
nute particles, melted, liquified, and again vitrified, efpecially by
a good burning-glals +. In the next place, the reality of the mat-
ter appears beyond all doubt, to thofe who have an opportunity
of viewing the various figures and colours of the ftones, in the
rocks and mountains, fome ignited, others ftriated, and many
heterogeneous bodies intermixed with them, of which Norway
affords multitudes, efpecially on the fea-coaft. If we confider
thefe attentively, they manifeftly evidence, that anciently their mat-
ter was foft and liquid, but again indurated, and that after this _
induration, or petrification, they were in many places again de- Wonderful
tached and confounded, as if hewed through, broken, fplit, and tren
raifed from their firft horizontal ftate to an oblique, and in fome
parts a perpendicular pofition. If the before-mentioned profound
theorifts had taken a view of this country, it would have furnifhed.
them, far beyond any other, with the ftrongeft experimental
proofs and illuftrations of their hypotheles}. 1 fhall, however,
adduce fome remarkable proofs from the heterogeneous folid bo-
dies, fo frequently found entombed as it were in other folid bodies,
him in the circumftances. He turns our globe into a fluid or liquified matter, fhorn
from the fun by a comet, which mixed itfelf with it. Could this have been expected
from a man who treats all hypothefes with the utmoft contempt

* Incendiis et inundationibus varie transformata funt corpora, et qua nunc opaca
et ficca cernimus, arfiffe initio, mox aquis haufta fuifle, tandemque fecretis elementis
in prafentem vultum emerfiffe, credi par eft. Omnis ex fufione icoria vitri eft genus,
feorize autem affimilari debuit crufta, que fufam globi materiam, velut in metalli
furno obtexit, induruitque poft fufionem. Ipfa magna .telluris offa, nudaque
illz rupes atque immortales filices,;cum tota fere in vitrum abeant, quid nifi con-

creta funt ex fufis olim corporibus, &c. Leibnitz Protogeza, § 111. p. 3, 4.

+ Mr. Becher, in his Phyfic. Subterran. fhews, that the hardeft ftones are diffo-
- luble by water and fire: ‘* Solius ignis et aque ope, fpeciali experimento, duriffimos
guofque lapides in mucorem refolvo, qui deftillatus fubtilem fpiritum exhibet.”
Again: “¢ Eft etiany certa methodus, folius aquae communis ope, filices et arenam
in liquorem vifcofum, eundemque in fal viride convertendi et hoc in oleum rubi-
cundum.” This laft method, which does not require the ufe of fire, is moft agree-
-able to Woodward’s Syftem, which on that account, among others, appears the
moft eligible,

{ That all ftones were anciently a foft or flimy pafte, is admitted as a tried and un-
queftionable certainty, in the Memoires de Academie Royale, ad A. 1716, p. 14.

I dA (folida

54 NATURAL HISTOR'Y of VORWAY.

ee plate v. (folida intra folida.) In the diftriét of Evindvig, fix leagues north
of Bergen, is.a place called Stenefund, where the mountain, for
half a quarter of a league, abounds with fuch petrified bodies, as
are fought for in the cabinets of vertuofos; many kinds of Cornua
Hammonis, large and {mall fhakes, mufcles, worms, infects, and
many others. This cannot be called a Lufus nature, which ex-
preflion, in this fenfe, is rather a Lufus poeticus, and amounts
only.to a paltry evafion, invented by perfons who are difpofed to
deny what is undentable. All thefe figures ‘appear there as if they
had been imprefied into a pafte, or dough, and no rational in-
quirer can entertain any doubt, that the rock was as foft as dough,
or pafte, when firft thefe bodies were intermixed with it. I fhall
pafs over many lefier examples of this kind, fuch as St. Olave’s
ferpent in Nordal creek, which, as far as it concerns the faint, is
fabulous, the monks having made ufe of it to attribute to St. Olave
the miracle of encountering this huge ferpent, and throwing it up
againft the place where it is now feen ;. but that it has hung there
ever fince the deluge, is not incredible, unlefs its dimenfions
of many fathoms render it fo. But this doubt will likewifévanith,
when I come in order, to {peak of the northern fea-reptiles, and
other extraordinary fea-animals. In the quarry of marble near
Mufterhaun, feven Norway miles fouth of Bergen, in the furface of
the rock, which is as it were the outward cruft of the marble, or a
porous flime, called Degftein, we fee feveral {mall round holes,
like thofe obfervable in tallow, of in wax, when congealing after
fafion ; and that the whole mafs of this quarry, together with its
veins, were formerly i in that flate, appears to me unqueftionable
from the anfiver of one of the workmen, when I afked him, if
he had never met in the marble with fomething elfe, or fome
fubftance which had the appearance of a different fubftance? his
anfwer was, ‘ This happens very feldom, yet both myfelf, and
others of my trade, have: fometimes met with it, and we have
found in the middle of blocks of marble, fnakes, mufcles, fand,
ftone, and- other fach things, fo inclofed in on.all ‘fides by the
‘marble, as if they belonged to it, although they immediately
loofen and drop out as a foreign fubftance, When this happens,
it is ufually followed by fuch a violent ftench, as over-powers us,
unlefs we turn immediately afide from it.” This laft circumftance —

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

I impute to the long confinement of the air. In my little col-
~JeGion of northern and other natural curiofities I have feveral
fuch petrified pieces, which exhibit folidum in folido, and other
indications of a fudden induration of thefe formerly fluid fub-
ftances, by which fifhes, worms, fnakes, and other creatures have
been inclofed in ftones, as we meet with infects and the like in
amber *. . 3 }
Inftead of dwelling on thefe things I fhall corroborate the matter
by a conjecture of my own, relating to three cavities in a rock in
the diftri@ of Rake, three quarters of a Norway mile from Fre-
dericfhall. Thefe cavities at their entrance are round, and each not
above two ells in circumference. Two of them are not very deep,
and fo are not particularly remarkable, as they might have been
formed by human hands with inftruments ; but the third cavity, on
that account, deferves the more admiration from the curious; for
tho’ not wider than the other two, and fo {mooth and regular, that
it might be miftaken for a work of art, yet it would be abfurd
to fuppofe this, on account of its unfathomable depth; for when
in order to form a computation of it, a fmall ftone is dropped
down, the echo does not in lefs than two minutes give any
room to conclude that the ftone has reached the bottom; and

the found it returns is quite melodious and pleafant, not unlike

that of a bell. ‘This profound cavity, which is too narrow to re-
‘ceive a human body, much lefs to allow room for the motion of
the hands, could not therefore poffibly have been dug or bored
by human art, confequently it muft be of equal date‘with the
world itfelf, or, which indeed is moft probable, it was formed by the
deluge, -and poflibly in this manner ; the fubftance of the rocks
_ being fuppofed foft and impreffible like a pafte, a round {tone,
previoufly indurated, might fall on it from fome eminence, and
by its own weight force a paflage quite through. And if the
two other cavities, which are not very deep, proceeded from a

fimilar caufe, the ftones which fell in there muft have been ~

lighter, or have met with a more infpiflated or harder matter.

- * Tam not little pleafed that Mr. Buffon has found
gus bodies in marble and chalk. Natural Hift. Tom, I

Part I. Q. SECT,

the like, and other adventiti-
. Art. VIII.

55

56 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
| SECT. Vill. |
mouse, Lhis pofition being eftablithed, it opens a way to an eafy ex~

rocks, and

baer bones, planation of the origin, both of the rocks, mountains, and hills,
the premites after the firft plane had been formed by the deluge. The hills,
of which few here are of fuch dimenfions as to be clafled among
the mountains, might very eafily be aggregated by the mere force
of the water, but the rocky mountains being of a denfer fubftance,
feem to have been elevated from beneath, in a convex form, by a
violent force of fubterraneous wind, water, and fire, heaving them
up, and fcattering them about in fo many protuberances *; and
if this happened, before the fubftance of the ftones became indu-

rated and fixed, then the external wind did likewife, accordin
to the conjecture before quoted, from M. Swedenburg’s Obferva-

tions, leave fo many veltiges of its violence both in the extent
and figure of them. This accounts, unqueftionably, for the innu-
merable fiffures, difruptions, and chafms, which appear like fo
many mountains fawn afunder, acrofs or lengthways+. And
hence many fuch apertures in the mountains are filled with a
flimy matter, of a fubfequent induration, and by the country-
people called Hejeitel. This projects in a range of about an ell,
or half an ell in breadth, betwixt the other lapideous ftrata, and
throughout the whole length or bulk of the mountain,which thus
from the variety of its colours makes a very pleafing appearance,
Of thefe Hejeitels, or feparate veins, fome confift of marble, or
alabafter, fome of agate, and fome of other white, red, blue, or
brown kind of ftones, which, efpecially towards the fea-coaft,
where the rocks are bare, form many curious variegations, Hence
likewife remain on the furface the many detached blocks and
* Scio quofdam fufpicari intumuiffe aliquando terram ab erumpente fpiritu, fur-
rexifle montes €x planitie, erupifie infulas ex mari, qualis apud Cedrenum in hi-
ftoria mifcella memoratur infula nata fub Leone iconomacho.—Kgo etiam facile
admittam initio, cum liquida effet maffa globi terrae, luctante fpiritu fuperficiem
varie intumuiffe; unde illi mox indurefcenti primzva inaqualitas; neque etiam diffi-

teor, firmatis licet rebus, terrae motu aliquando vel ignivoma eructatione, monticu-
3

: ibnitz Protogzea, Sect. xx11. p. 36. feq. |
oe ies 5 mk I. a 6h, according eit Gian; affions the following caufe ~
ai perpendicular fiffures and chafms in the mountains ; that the waters gradu-
ally fubfiding, and the pafte of the rocks being dried, the fhafts thus contracted,
ge farily feparate, and leave an aperture betwixt them, as the like daily happens
ve a at Raich; &c. harden. Whereas the horizontal rents in mountains,
which are much fewer, run according to the feveral ftrata of the fubftances, which

"are obferved to lie over each other, like the leaves of a book.

A frag-

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. so
fragments, like lumps of mortar, or a foft pafte, {cattered not
only in the vallies and creeks, where they are called Sciflats and
Flies, but alfo on the tops of the higheft mountains ; many fuch
being found here of the bulk of a common houfe, confequently
too ponderous to have been raifed to fuch a height by the hands
of men, and befides of no vifible ufe.

This likewife is the origin of moft of thofe pebbles, which are Stones not
found {cattered in all parts of the globe, and which by length of ears
time become fomewhat {mooth and even. I fay moft of them,
and allow that fome {andy ftones may be faid to grow, and from
this caufe, that a fuperficial layer of fand or clay was indurated
by the fun. But that ftones in general, efpecially the hard peb-
bles, grow, and confequently are endued with a vegetative life,
or internal power to imbibe their nourifhment from the earth,
this is certainly one of the moft abfurd notions that ever was re-
ceived among judicious men, and efpecially in an age in which
the caufes of things are fo minutely and accurately inveftigated,
If after clearing a piece of grouud of the {mall ftones, there ap-
pears to be a fucceffion of them, this is owing to a hard froft
within the earth, and the {welling of the earth by the enfuing
thaws, whereby, every year, the ftones are carried up to the fur-
face. That mountain-cryftals, and poffibly more valuable gems,
may grow like fap or juices, which gradually become tiaged with
the colours of the minerals, and according to the quality and ar-
rangement of the faline particles, concrete and {hoot into cones,
I am very willing to. admit; likewife, that the water carrying
away fome lapideous particles, here and there in the cavities of
the mountains, reduces them to a pafte, which afterwards being
dropped, remains fufpended like icicles ; and there forms what is
therefore called the Drop-ftone or Stalactites. }

oma oe, Giga! Weoaeaae 2:

Before I take my leave of the mountains, and particularly of He inca
our Norvegian rocks, I muft, agreeably to my purpofe, mention vtiencicsand

detriment to
fomething further to the praife of the great Creator, and to in- fae
cline the people of Norway to be gratefully contented with the arid male
habitation which God has affigned them. I previoufly grant, as

ad

58

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

all earthly enjoyments are -mixed with bitters, according to tlie

poet’s faying,
Omnis commoditas fua fert incommoda fecum,

fo the inhabitants of a mountainous country may in general be
{aid to labour under more inconveniencies than others ; as the
country, in the firft place, is lefs fruitful, the arable ground being ©
but little in comparifon with the waftes and deferts. The difpro-
portion in many provinces, efpecially thofe which are entirely
over-run with mountains, betwixt their produce and the inhabi-
tants is very great, they being under a neceflity of procuring one
half of their fuftenance out of the fea. In the next place, the vil-
lages cannot be fo large, compact, and convenient as in other
parts; but the houfes lie {cattered among the vallies, generally at
half or a quarter of a league diftance, although up the country
the farm-houfes are both larger, and ftand thicker than in the
vallies of Bergen, where they are the {maller, from the vaft ex-~
tent of the mountains. In fome places, as in the creeks in Ulland
and Nordal, the peafants houfes ftand fo high, and on the edge of
fuch a fteep precipice, that ladders are fixed to climb up to
them ; fo that when a prieft is fent for, who is unpraétifed in
the road, he rifks his life, and chiefly in winter when it is flip-
pery. In fuch places a corps muft be let down with ropes, or
be brought on men’s backs, before it is laid in the coffin. The
mail likewife in winter muft, at fome diftance from Bergen, be
drawn up over the fteepeft mountains. Under this head of inconve~
niences we may alfo reckon the very difficult roads, extremely fo to
the day-labourers, but particularly to travellers, who cannot with-
out terror pafs feveral places even in.the king’s road, over the fides

of fteep and craggy mountains, and on ways which are either

fhored up or fufpended by iron bolts faftened in the mountains,
and tho’ not above the breadth of a foot-path, without any rails
on the fide, as indeed it is impoflible to fx any; not to mention
the fudden rifing of the rivers, which they muft either wade thro’,

or crofs over on ruinous bridges *. In this diocefe the bridges are
; not

* In the narrow pafs of Naeroe, leading to Waas, is a very remarkable piece of
antiquity, being a way fufpended on iron bolts, which the famous king Suerre, in

the year 1200, or above fix hundred years ago, caufed to be faftened into the rocks,
to
2

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWV AY.

not built of any extraordinary ftrength, being ufed only by foot-
pafiengers, or horfemen; for there is no road for carts, and many
peafants here who have not fo much as feen a cart, when they
come to Bergen, look with amazement at it, as a curious ma-
chine. A fourth evil refulting from the mountains, and efpe-
cially in this province, is the fhelter their cavities and clefts afford
to wild beafts of prey, which renders it difficult to extirpate
them. It is not eafy to defcribe what havock lynxes, foxes,
bears, and efpecially wolves, make among the cattle, the goats;
hares, and other ufeful animals. In the chapter of the wild beafts
we {hall give a more particular account of this. Another very
pernicious evil is, that the cattle, goats, &c. belonging to the
peafants, often fall down the precipices, and are deftroyed. Some-
times they make a falfe {tep into a projection called a mountain-
hammer, where they can neither afcend nor defcend; on this occa-
fion a peafant cheerfully ventures his life for a fheep or goat; and
defcending from the top of a mountain by a rope of fome hun-
dred fathom, he flings his body on a crofs-ftick, till he can fet his
foot on the place where his goat is, when he faftens it to the rope
to be drawn up along with himfelf. But the moft amazing cir-
eumftance is, that he runs this rifk with the help only of one
fingle perfon, who holds the end of the rope, or faftens it to a
ftone, if there be one at hand. There are inftances of the affiftant
himfelf having been dragged down, and facrificing his life in fidelity
to his friend, on which occafion both have perifhed *, The fixth,

and
to make a paflage for his army, doubtlefs for his cavalry, which could not pofibly
have pafied it, had they not been Norway horfes, thefe being accuftomed to climb
the rocks as nimbly as goats. I add, that the moft dangerous, tho’ not the mott
dificult road I have met with in my feveral journies in Norway, is that betwixt
Skogftadt and Vang in Volders ; along the frefh-water lake called Little Mios, the
road on the fide of the fteep and high mountain, is in fome places as narrow and
confined as the narroweft path, and if two travellers meeting in the night, do not
ice each other foon enough to ftop where the road will fuffer them to pafs, and
chance to meet in the narroweft parts, it appears to me as it does to others whom I
have afked, that they muft {top thort, without being able to pafs by one another, or
to find a turning for their horfes, or even to alight. The only refource I can imagine
in this difficulty, is, that one of them mutt endeavour to cling to fome corner of

this fteep mountain, or be drawn up by a rope, if help be at hand, and then to
throw his horle down headlong into the lake, in order to make room for the other
traveller to pafs. i‘

* Of thefe melancholy, and not unfrequent accidents, of a man or a beatt falling’
fome hundred fathoms from the precipices, it is obferved, that the air prefles with
fuch force againft the bodies thus falling, that they are not only fuffocated
and deprived of life long before they reach the ground; but their bellies burft,

Pans A; R and

59

60

See plate V.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
and not the leaft danger, to which the inhabitants in this and fome
other provinces, tho’ feldom in Ofterland, are expofed, is, that
fometimes by a fudden difruption of a rock, great damages are

done to the cattle, fields, and woods, and fometimes houfes and

families are involved in the deftruétion. Thefe difruptions (called
Steenfkreed) generally happen in the fpring, when the dilation of
the {trata of earth, occafioned by the thaws and rains-on the fum-
mits of the mountains, loofens fome adjacent {mall ftones, which
as they roll down, gradually gather more, and carry before them,
or after them, fuch heaps of ftones, fand and rubbith, that all the
trees in the way are torn up, and the mountain is fo ftripped of all
its covering, that it has the appearance of a beaten road; and if the
earth chance to lie too deep for this mifchief, many deep trenches,
or long and narrow vallies are formed, the foil of which is thrown
on the contiguous fields and paftures, which in time, tho’ it requires
fome years, recover their verdure and fertility. The greateft and
molt deftructive fall of ftone as well as fnow, of which I have elfe-
where made mention, happened in this diocefe about Candlemafs,
in the year 1679, when many cultivated tracts of land were de-
ftroyed, feveral houfes demolifhed, and, only-in the diftri@ of Sund=
moer, 130 fouls perifhed, and all this as fuddenly as in other coun-
tries by earthquakes. — ) |
There is another much more terrible, and a more extraordinary
natural accident, which in fome degree refembles this laft; it
is diftinguifhed by the name of Bergrap; the mountain being as it

were convulfed, gives way, feparates, and falls down on the coun-

try; fometimes in fmall pieces, and then the damage is but flight;
but fometimes, tho’ feldom, entire crefts of rocks fome hundred
fathoms in length and breadth have fallen ; which occafions a vio-
lent agitation in the air, and has all the appearance of a prelude
of a general deftruction of the world. The veftiges of fuch a Ber-
grap, are moft evidently to be feen at Steen-broe, in Laerdale, in

and their entrails immediately gufh out; which is plainly the cafe, when they happen -
to fall into a creek, or any other water, for all the limbs remaining whole, but the
belly is burft. The certainty of this matter throws a light upon an obfcure paflage,
efpecially in Luther’s and our Danith tranflation of the Bible, where it is faid, Acts,
chap. i. 18. he hanged himfelf, and burft in two, and all bis bowels fell out. On the
contrary, the words are, wenvns yevomevos sraxnre weoos, Praeceps factus eft, falling
headlong, be burft afunder in the midft, is the Englith tranflation, and agrees perfectly
well with the fequel, according te the above obfervation, which in this country is

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NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 64

the gallery, as it is called, where a mafs bigger than any caftle in
the whole world appears to have fallen from the rock; the pieces
are, fome of the bulk of a houfe, fome lefs, but all as pointed
as if millions of pieces of broken glafs lay there. The river |
roars prodigioufly as it paffes through thefe ftupendous ruins, over
which, however, a way has been laid with infinite labour, but
certainly one more difficult is not to be met with throughout the
world. ee |

When fuch a Bergrap falls into a creek, or any deep water, the
fragments indeed are out of fight, but their fubmerfion caufes fuch
an agitation of the water, as to overflow and carry away the adjacent
houfes, and even churches; of which, on the 8th of January 1731,
there was a remarkable inftance in the parifh of Oerfkoug, and in
the annexed parifh of Strand, on Sundmoer, where a mafs, or pro-
montory, called Rammersfield, hanging over Nordal-creek, being
undermined by the water, fuddenly fell down, whereby the water,
for the {pace of two miles, fwelled with fuch force, that the
church of Strand (which has fince been rebuilt on a higher {pot)
though a direé half league on the other fide of the bank, was en-
tirely overflowed, feveral barks carried up the country, many
houfes deftroyed, and fome people drowned; yet the creek was {6
far from being filled up, that the fifhermen fay, they find no differ-
ence in the bottom, which, thereabouts, is no lefs than goo fa-
thoms deep*. And in the beginning of the prefent century, fome-
thing fimilar happened to a mountain in Julfter, which falling into

a lake occafioned an inundation, whereby the neighbourhood fuf-
tained great damages. net : |

Sop Ta a

From thefe inconveniencies.and difafters to which Norway and
all mountainous countries are expofed, I proceed, on the other

Convenien-
cies and ad-
vantages arif-
. ing fromthem
* : 5 , . to the inhabi-

sah Hans Hort, fuperintendant at Sundmoer, in his letter to me of the 30th tants, accord-
of November 1750, is of opinion, that this was chiefly. occafioned by the de- ig to the
fluxions of water from a {pring on the fummit of the rock through its clefts and Sacoiors wele
fiffures ; and it beine th hard froft, the i i male a

shane og then a nara troft, the ice widened the clefts and forced them defign.

afun er. clofe with this reafon, and find it confirmed by Mr. Rohault, Princip
Traité Phyfigque, Tom I, chap. xxi. p. 201, “ Si un corps dur a {es pores affez
piaibe pour Wee pSseaiete de liqueur, et fi ces pores font remplis d’eau, comme

eau ne peut je geler fans fe dilater, il peut arriver qu’en

e gela

corps qui la renferme ?” ? aaa DS Wheceahsgiapiapae

hand;

62

Mountains
the ftore-
houfes of pro-
vidence.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

hand, according to promife, to recite the advantages of mountains;

and thefe alfo are very many, and fome very confiderable, fo that

the kind Creator has univerfally, in fome things, compenfated the
want of others, which he has thought ft to withhold from man-
kind.

The firft benefit of mountains is, that they collect the clouds
and diffolve them in rains, as I have already fhewn; likewife that
the maffes of {fnow, refervoirs, and {prings in the mountains, fend
down large and {mall currents of water, whereby the fields, woods,
and cattle are refrefhed, and even the fubterraneous veins of water
and fprings, which do not immediately iffue from without the
mountains, owe their origin to them, efpecially where the veins are
large and rapid, as has fufficiently been made out by Ray,
Scheuchzer, Wolff, and other naturalifts. I would only remark
here, that feveral level heaths remain barren and uncultivated,
merely becaufe, after digging deep for {prings, men can {carce pro-
cure water fufficient for their own ufe, and have no fodder for
their cattle at all. Iam alfo of opinion that mountgin-water is
more fertilizing than common rain-water, and whether from {alt
petre efiluvia, or fome other caufe, has in it a particular vegeta-
tive power, as is manifeft not only from the quicknefs of the
growth, and vigor of all kinds of young trees, particularly pines,
afhes, oaks, and other trees on the fides of mountains, where is very
little earth, and fometimes even in arid clefts, where they are known
to thrive better than when planted in other parts; but the fame is
likewife vifible in the cultivated parts, which indeed are {mall, but
in fuch fecundity, as both in ftraw and grain greatly to furpafs the
champaign country, the marfh-lands and the like excepted. It is
alfo well known, that the furface of the hard mountains, tho’ unfit
for the plough, affords large and excellent pafturages, and the pro-
perty of the northern peafants in oxen, Cows, fheep, and goats,
would be reduced very low, were it not for their fpacious range on
the Gides of the mountains ;° not to mention that wild-fowl, and
beafts, do as well as the feveral hurtful animals find more refuge
and food in the mountains, than in the level country. Befides, the
mountainous countries may be confidered as the ftore-houfes or
treafuries of providence, where are laid up, and from whence he
kindly difpenfes, according to the exigencies of the world in every

3 age,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 63.

thofe metals and minerals, which are become fo indifpenfable in
human life, and the want of which, as a medium in commerce,
obliges fome nations to exchange their commodities for a fmall bit
of iron. Norway, till a century and a half ago, appears from all
accounts to have wrought but few mines, confequently, the country
contained treafures out of knowledge. Since that time, matters are
fo improved by the afliftance of German miners, that the filver,
copper, and iron mines, have produced to the amount of feveral
millions. Olaus Magnus, would be agreeably furprifed, if he
were a witnefs of the increafe of mines, both in his native coun-
try, and here, beyond what he had ever imagined; for in his.
time he could fay, ‘* Montes excelfi funt, fed pro majori parte Otaus Mag-
fteriles et aridi, in quibus nil aliud pro incolarum commoditate Sept, Pref,
et confervatione gignitur, quam inexhaufta pretioforum métallo- bce
‘rum ubertas, qua fatis opulenti fertilefque funt in omnibus vite
neceflartis, forfitan et fuperfluis aliunde, fi libet, conquirendis,
unanimique robore ac viribus, ubi vis contra hee nature dona in-
tentata fuerit, defendendis. Acre enim genus hominum eft, &e.”
Thefe laft words, which may confirm the opinion, that the in+
habitants of Sweden and Norway derive their natural vigour
and bravery, from the proximity of thefe rocky mountains,
remind me of the third advantage to be confidered here ;
namely, that the mountains afford a fhelter and defence, not
only againit the inclemencies of the weather, but likewife againtt
invafions. ‘They ferve, as has already been faid, for boundaries
betwixt Norway and Sweden; for from Kolen, a long chain of
mountains, of an amazing height, feparates thefe two kingdoms,
But the experience of all ages fhews the many mountainous traés
in the country to be natural fortreffes ; for the Norway peafants,
who are excellent markfmen, poft themfelves in time of war, on
the fleep inacceflible rocks, where, animated purely by a zeal for
their country, they gall the enemy incredibly. Some provinces
are alfo by nature utterly inacceffible to an army encumbered with
artillery. On this account the city of Bergen, tho’ fortified by no
more than two caftles towards the fea, is thought to be in no great
danger, if threatned only by a land-force;. for the peafants living
in Juftedale, and other places of the fame kind, where the’ only
paflage is thro’ a narrow defile, could, with a handful of men, keep
Parr I. S | off

64.

Pleafant
land{capes.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

off a numerous army. Whether mountains be univerfally a natural
girdle or band for ftrengthening the compages of the globe, as fome
conceive, I leave abfolutely undetermined, it being immaterial to
my purpofe to adopt fuch conceits for my own *.

Laftly, thefe natural fortifications feem alfo to be an ornament
and decoration to the country; the diverfitied figures, and alter-
nate eminences, and other varieties, according to the tafte of
moft people, form a much more agreeable land{cape than a flat
and even country, which is almoft every where the fame. In this
refpect our country affords the moft delightful contrafts in the
diverfity of its profpeéts. And thefe moft magnificent ftru@ures
of the great architect of nature, raife and animate the mind of
man, by infpiring him with the moft agreeable and the moft fub-
lime fentiments. Towards the extremities of the fea-coaft, thofe
who {fail along the bare rocks and towering mountains of Nor-
way, will be apt to conclude, that the country can ‘afford nothing
but wretched cottages, and extreme penury; but this opinion foon
vanifhes upon their coming into the creeks, and obferving that here,
according to the German proverb, here are people behind the
mountains, and that in the vallies and narrow interftices they live
very agreeably, amidft fuch delightful land{capes, that within a few
miles, a painter might have choice of incomparable originals. It
is certain that mature has been more profufely favourable to the
fituation of fome farm-houfes, than to moft royal palaces in other
countries, tho’ affifted with all the embellifhments of groves, ter-
rafies, cafcades, canals, and the like. Some trading places, as
Bragnefs and others, are charmingly fituated betwixt the moun-
tains at the mouth of the rivers. A predeceffor of mine is faid to
have given the name of the northern Italy to the diftri@ of Waas,
which lies fome leagues eaftward of Bergen; and certainly to one
who defires no-more than a regular affemblage of the beauties of |
nature (tho’ of mere nature) there cannot be a more enchantin
profpeét ; for all the buildings in it are Wang-church, the par-
fonage, and.a few farm-houfes {cattered on different eminences.
But the beauty of the profpeét is much heightened by two uni-

* Quod offa in microfcofmo,. hoc in geocofmo montium ftrutura facit, qui totam
terreni globi molem ita ftringunt, ut diffolui minime poffit atque hoc modo per-
fectam confiftentiam confequatur. Athanaf. Kircherus in Mundo Subterraneo,.

P. 1. pag. 67. 6
- JOrm

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

form mountains, gradually rifing in the fame proportions to a valt
height, betwixt which runs a valley near half a league in breadth,
‘and a river fometimes fpreading into little lakes, and fometimes
precipitating itfelf down the rocks, in foaming and fonorous caf-
cades. On both fides it is bordered with the fineft meadows, in-
termingled with little thickets; and the eafy declivities of the
verdant mountains covered with fruitful fields, and farm-houfes
ftanding above each other in a fucceflion of natural terraffes. Be-
tween thefe a ftately foreft prefents itfelf to the view, and be-
yond that, the fummits of mountains covered with perpetual fnow,
and ftill beyond thefe, ten or twelve ftreams iffuing from the {now-
mountain, and forming an agreeable contraft in their meanders
along the blooming fides of the mountain, till they lofe them-
felves in the rivers beneath. In other places, efpecially Ofterland,
and even beyond Drontheim, in North-land, in the diftricts of
Salten and Senien, there are. likewife very pleafant fpots, befides
other advantages, which the inhabitants reap from the mountains,
of which, to avoid prolixity, I now take my leave. But if any
want further motives or informations on this head, to lead their
meditations to God, as the God of the mountains, I refer them to
the ivth chapter of Derham’s Phyfico Theology.

Clit Arp.

65

66

The coafts,
iflands, and
harbours of
Norway.

NATURAL HISTORYiof VORWAY.

CHAP. IIL,
Of the WA TERS.

Sect. I. The fea-coaft, iflands, and harbours of Norway: Stor. IW. Bottom of
the fea along the coafts. Sect. Ill. Bottomlefs depths even in the narrow
Jireams and creeks which run up the country. Sect. 1V. Weight of the fea-
water. Skcvr. V. Its colour. Sect. VI. Its Jalinefs. Sect. VI. Is
Satnefs. Sect. VIII. Its corufcations, and brightnefs in the night. Sect. IX. Its
agitations by winds, ebb, and flood. Spor. X. The Moftoe river in Nordland,
7s not what it appears to be at a diftance. Sect. XI. Prefh-water, parti-
cularly fprings, in Norway. Suct. XII. Rivulets, currents, rivers, .frefb
water lakes, and floating iflands in them. Sncv. XUI. The great advantage
of fuch waters for the conveyance and exportation of timber. Secr. XIV. Wa
ter-falls, or Cataracts, from the rocks into the rivers, Suet. XV. Bridges
over the rivers, and the wonderful conftruétion of fome uh} them. Sect. XVI. Eafy

way of travelling ¢ in the winter over the frozen waters,

g BiGo Toowds ,

FN our furvey of the element of water, in and about Norway;
the firft obje& which prefents itfelf to us is a part of the
north or large Atlantic fea, which follows the coafts of Norway
for three Hittdred leagues, and: by many natrow channels forms
a multitude of {mall and large iflands, fome of them being from
three to fix or nine leagues in length, and not barren; but moft .
of them are fo {mall, that they are inhabited only by fome fifher-
men and pilots, who keep a few heads of cattle, which they fend
out for pafture to the neareft little iflands, rocks, and Sheers. By
fuch a rampart, which poflibly may confift of a million or more
of fone columns, founded in the bottem of the fea, the capitals
whereof fearce rife higher than fome fathoms above the waves, al-
moft the whole weftern coaft of Norway is defended ; and thro’
the providence of the wife Creator, there are many advantages
which arife from them. Among thefe the firft is, fecurity againft
any naval power of an enemy, whofe fhips, without a pilot from
the country itfelf, would not dare to venture within the Sheers,

-and then they are in danger from the leaft ftorm, which here-

abouts gives no warning, infomuch, that in an inftant, unlefs they
have the geod fortune of fecuring themfelves in a good harbour,
they may be dafhed to pieces in the creeks, which are all inclofed

I with

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
with fleep rocks: This coaft, indeed, affords fo many and fuch
good harbours as few other maritime countries can boaft of; and
this is another advantage of thefe numberlefs rocks and Sheers.
Yet a large fhip, which cannot make ufe of oars, will be in dan-
eer of not reaching the harbour, before the wind, or the current;
which are very violent in the Straits, dafh it againft the {teep rocks
in the neighbourhood. In order to prevent this danger, feveral
hundreds of large iron rings, have, by order of the government,

efpecially here about Bergen, been fixed in the rocks more than

two fathoms above water, as moorings to the fhips, when there
is not room for anchorage. The coafters find the advantage of
_ fo many Sheers and rocks, as thefe protec them in a calm water,
againft the violence of the waves, which is greatly abated by
breaking againft the rocks. On the other hand, a few open
places, fuch as'the harbour of the town, and that directly before
Jeder, are fo dangerous to pafs, that many lives are loft there
every year, the waves of the weftern ocean, when driven by a
ftorm towards the land, making a very hollow and terrible
entrance. |
The bottom of the fea is here, as every where, full of inequa-
lities, and in this refpect, not Jefs varied than the land, which
is frequently an alternate fucceflion of high mountains, and deep
vallies. The analogy is the fame in the fubftance of the bot-
tom of the fea, according to the obfervation of pilots, from the
end of their leads, where they fometimes find ftones, fometimes
clay, chalk, mud, and fometimes white or brown fand; and in
many places it is over-run, not only with all kinds of fea-grafs,
but with feveral forts of fea-trees, fome of which are pretty large,
with corals, and the like ftony vegetables*. A clear view of
thefe, and likewife of the incredible multitude of fea-animals,
montters, &c. moft of them unknown, to which thefe vegetables
partly ferve as aliment, could not but excite in us the greateft
aftonifhment ; for from the fea-vegetables, which fometimes hang
at the lines, or other implements of the fifhermen, and of which
I have a large collection, we muft conclude, that the bottom of
* Sylvas effe fubmarinas mare rubrum fat fuperque docet, ex cujus fundo fubinde

ingens a pifcatoribus corallinarum arborum copia, cerafo noftro vix cedentium uti
ab Arabibus rubri maris accolis non femel audivi, eruitur, Kircherus Mund. Subterr,

DP. apa, 97. -
Parr I. san the

Bottom of the
fea.

68.

Bottom of the
fea along the
coaft,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

the fea, in its plains, mountains, and vallies, has forefts of diffe-.
rent kinds of trees, which, from the fize of fome branches which
have been drawn up, may be conceived at leaft equal to the
largeft fruit-trees in our gardens; but I referve my own obferva-
tions upon thefe, till I come to treat in their order, of the Nor-
way plants and. vegetables.

SE Col. H,

The Norway fhore is in very few places level, or gradually af
cending, but generally fteep, angular, and impendent, . fo that
clofe to the rocks the fea is a hundred, two hundred, nay, three
hundred. fathoms deep; whereas, on the long and uneven fand-
banks, which are generally called Storeg, or by others Haubroe,
{ea-breaks, the bottom is much more floping. Thefe protube-
rances run north and fouth along the coaft of Norway, like the

Sheers, tho’ not within them; in fome places they are but four

or fix leagues, in others twelve or fixteen from the continent, that
from thence it may be concluded, that the bays are formed by

_them. ‘Thefe Storegs ‘are another difpofition of the wife Creator,

Unfathom-
able depths,
even in the
rivers and
crecks.

from the abundant fifheries they afford, like the Dogger-bank be-
twixt Jutland and England; in a bottomlefs deep the fith would
be out of reach, but here is as it were their daily rendezvous,
and the depth being from ten to fifteen fathoms, they are taken
with great eale.

SECT. IIE.

From the fea, particularly on the weft-fide of Norway, feveral
large and fmall creeks run fix, eight, or ten leagues up the country ;

in thefe the bottom is found to be very different, tho’ in ‘general

as deep as that of the fea without; but as to the depth under water,
the peafants pretend, that the neareft fteep mountains are the mea-

-fure by which to judge, they correfponding in their height above

water, with the depth of the fea: Whether this rule be exadily
right I fhall not determine *. ‘This, however, is certain from ge-
neral experience, that in the middle of thefe wefterly creeks, runs
another narrow channel of a quite difproportionate depth, which -
therefore is called Dybrende, i. e. the deep courfes; the breadth

* This is confirmed by experience in many other countries. Dampier’s Voyages,

P. ir, p. 476.

is

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
is from fifty to a hundred fathoms; but all the fifhermen agree,
that the depth is feldom lefs than four hundred fathoms, and they
are very careful in fpreading their nets, to caft them as near this
deep channel as poflible, for the fifth are caught in the greateft
plenty on its banks, it being as it were a place of their daily re-
fort; but herein they are obliged to ufe no lefs caution, that their
nets be not carried into thefe depths, for the current, on account
of its narrownels being very rapid, they are hardly recoverable ;
and, befides, their line and nets will not fuffice for a gulph of
three or four hundred fathoms. ‘The depth of the water on both
fides of this channel, is commonly about an hundred fathoms, to
which, if according to the above-mentioned rule, the height of
the {fteep rocks on the fides be added, tho’ many of them are
twice or three times higher, the whole {pace from the creft of
the mountains to the bottom of thefe narrow depths, is at leaft
five hundred fathoms, or fifteen hundred ells. This great depth
appears to me very worthy of obfervation, to thofe who would in-
veftigate the effects of the general deluge, thefe deep creeks, and
other deep vallies, being, as I conceive, formed by the ebb of the
waters, in the fubftance of the rocks, which has been fhewn to
have been foft and impreflible, as a pafte, ora mafs of mud,
which gradually fubfided and became a folid bottom to the waters,.
through which the large ftreams and floods in their impetuous ebb
muft have made an incifion, more or lefs deep, according to the
height of the place from whence they iffued. Now if it be confi-
dered, that the long chain of high and extenfive mountains,
reaching, north and fouth, the length of fifty Norway miles from
_ the middle of the diocefe of Chriftianfand to Dofrefield, is about
fixteen Norway miles from the furtheft fea-coaft, likewife that
all the weftern creeks run acrofs from the root of that chain into
the fea; we fhall conclude, that the great depth of the creeks is
little to be wondered at, the places, from whence the laft waters
fell, being of fuch an enormous height, confequently the: many

waterfalls, which eradually deprefled the eminences, and the edges

of the fides of the mountains, muft have been of extreme rapi-
dity, and ftrong enough to occafion thefe deep channels. The be-
nefits of them are fuch, that to them the diocefe of Bergen may
be faid to owe its being habitable, and the communication it en-

joys

69

70

Weight of the

fea-water.

Rohault
Traité de
Phyfique,
Tom. 11. p.
LIX. Cap. ili,

$ 9.

Tts colour.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY
joys with the fea. For the many infurmountable rocks and pre-=

cipices, the roots of which are penetrated by thefe navigable
creeks, would elfe have rendered it impoflible to dwell any where

but on the fea-coafts, many tracts on this account being wild and

uninhabited, in the mountains of Tyrol; and divers parts of
this diocefe, diftinguifhed by the name of Uddale, i. e. inacceffi-
ble vallies, are, for want of communication with other countries,
either without inhabitants, or they are deftitute of conveniencies,
tho’ here and there in no want of fuel and pafture. Concerning
this depth of the fea, I muft further add, that in fome places no
bottom can be found, as in Floge creek, a N orway mile from
Drontheim, where, after meafuring it with a line of a thoufand

fathoms, the fearch proved fruitlefs, fo that unqueftionably the

bottom of the fea has an opening or communication with this
immeafurable abyfs.

SEG

Altho” the fea-water, towards the north, contains lefs fale,
than that near the line, as fhall hereafter be thewed, yet its
weight is much greater than in the warm countries, the caufe of
which is by Ifaac. Peyrere, in his letter concerning iflands, to M. de
la Mothe le Vayer, attributed to the aqueous particles, which are
here more denfe and impure than elfewhere. But as this creates,
another inquiry, he might more pertinently have faid, that the
air near the poles being condenfed by the cold, comprefles clofe
whatever it touches, and confequently the particles of the water,
and as by this compreffion they adhere clofer to each other, con-
fequently they have force to bear up heavy burdens, which in |
lighter waters would fink,

SE ¢ T.. NV:

According to the obfervation of Mr. Urban Hiernes, the water
of the north-fea is of a bluifh tinge, as that near the Green Cape
and Florida partakes of the colour of the fea-grafs, which grows
in great abundance thereabouts; near Vera Cruz it is white,
from the chalky bottom, and near Maldivia it is as black as ink,
probably by reafon of the effluvia from the coal-mines, or fome
other black fubftance at the bottom. But that the water of the

north-fea, has in itfelf a blue tinge does not appear, and I am.
3: Ip-

“

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. ai

‘nclined to believe that this bluenefs is no further real, than as the
eye is apt to reprefent to itfelf the air, or any object at a great
diftance, of that colour. Peyrere, in the place before cited, affirms,
that the ice in the north-fea is blue, and therefore by the an-
cients termed Cerulea Glacies. The fnow, which on the fummits
of the mountains gradually hardens into ice, is of this colour,
and therefore commonly called Blaabreen.

Sb Gy bas) VI,

Altho’ the fea-waters of Norway be much falter than thofe of is fofnes.
the Baltic, where the fea is refrefhed by abundance of rivers -
runing into it, yet it has not the faltnefs of that in warmer coun-
tries, efpecially under the torrid zone. And this is no more than Hernnds|
natural; for where the vehement heat of the fun occafions a more ». p. 297:
copious evaporation and exhalation, as in the falt-pans, there
the faline particles in the remaining water become the more clofely
united, and confequently the faltnefs of it more pungent; for
that the fun itfelf fhould convey in its fcorching rays innumerable
atoms of falt to the fea, and confequently moft there, where it
ftrikes the greatcht heat, is contrary to all experience, altho’ the
long fince rejected principle of Ariftotle * is again difcuffed and
efpoufed by that very ingenious and diligent naturalift in Sweden, In the above:
Mr. Urban Hierne. It feems of more importance here to enquire, Sta 3)
why the faltnefs of the fea-water, here decreafing towards the
north, increafes at fome diftance higher towards the north-pole,
fo that the water, no further than Iceland, is falter than the water
on our Norway coatts, according to M. Anderfon’s remark in his
Deicription of Iceland? The caufe is plainly this, that a very in-
tenfe cold, fublimates by evaporations greater quantities of the fu-
perficial and frefheft fea-water, and partly diffipates them by
froft. Thus here the cold has, tho’ in a lefs degree, almoft the
fame effe& as the heat in hot countries; but this effect it cannot
produce on the weft-coaft of Norway, where, for the moft part
we have damp weather, and know very little of the clear cold

*. Je dirai ici en paffant, que c’eft un erreur d’affurer avec Ariftote, que la falure
de la mer depend de ce que les eaux font brulées par les rayons du foleil, car l’on
n’a jamais experimenté que la chaleur de cet aftre, ou meme celle de la flamme ait
paver de Peau douce en de eau falee. Rohault Phyfique, T. 11. p. 111, cap. iv.

ect. 34. :

Parr I, U of

a9 NATURAL HISTORY of VORVWAY.

of winter, as I have fhewn in the firft chapter, together with the

caufes of it.. Further, that the fea-falt diffolves and detaches itfelf

from the adjacent falt-grounds, and, partly, is carried thither by
fubterraneous currents, running thro’ the deep falt-mines; of which

kind fome are to be found in Poland, and other parts, feems

to me preferable to any other opinion, although the fagacious

Baron Wolfe cannot entirely come into it. But what I alledge in
anfwer to the queftion, why the fea-water does not continually

erow falter, is this; that exclufive of the immenfe quantity of

falt, which the fea daily lofes by the many falt-works in France,

Spain, and other countries, exclufive of the rain, and the frefh-

water rivers difcharging themfelves into the fea, by which, ac-
cording to the difpofition of the wife Creator, the balance is con-
lies tinually maintained ; exclufive of all this, it is highly credible,
ofthefea) that frefh-water fprings iffue out of the bottom of the fea. The
poflibility of this admits of no doubt; but to demonftrate the

reality by any experiment, will be attended with fome dithculty,

yet the fifhermen living under Sund-moer, have more than once in-
formed me, that they often find, in the body of a fkate, water en-

tirely frefh; which muft always be fuch, if this frefhnefs be the re-

fult of a kind of filtration, which the water has undergone within

the body of the fifh; but this frefhnefs not being common, I con-

clude that the fith has drank in this frefh-water from a {pring break-

ing out in the bottom of the fea. It is obfervable, by the way, that

the fea-water on the coaft of Norway, but moftly on the weft-fide,

is known to be pretty full of falt particles, the peafants finding no

{mall quantities of falt in the clefts and apertures of the rocks,

_ where, by the egrefs and regrefs of the water, fome falt is left with
Salt-pans. the remaining furf, fuch as might on occafion be collected and pu-
rified. In Hardanger, on Nord-moer, and feveral other places, par-
ticularly in the diocefe of Drontheim, the peafants extract falt from

the fea-water by boiling ; but as this operation is forced, and con-

fumes great quantities of wood, therefore the law of Norway pro-

hibits the boiling any more falt than is neceflary to every one for his
domeftic ules, dichole the exprefs permiffion of the magiftracy to

make that ufe of the fuel. About ten years ago, a large falt-work

was begun at Tonfberg on the king’s account, and the fea-water,

after being firft refined, is there boiled in fuch quantities, that

| {everal

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
everal fhip-loads are annually exported; tho’ this is but a {mall
matter in comparifon with fixty, or more, fine large fhips laden
with falt, which come every year from Spain and France, for the

fifhery and other ufes. .
opi J OU Dein ig 6 |
Next to its faltnefs, the oil, or fatnefs, or un@tuoufnels of the
north-fea, is a remarkable property of it, efpecially as the innu=
merable fhoals of large and fimall fifh, which are both ingendered
and nourifhed there, ferve both for food, and for the benefit of
light, to almoft all countries in Europe. For it is not merely
by devouring one another that the fith are fattened, or by the
aliment they receive from an infinite number of worms, and other

73

The fea+wa-
ter oily:

infects, likewife fea-grafs, fea-trees, and fuch vegetables, which —

are the food appropriated to particular kinds of the inhabitants of
the fea; the falt-water itfelf, is from its faltnefs fo fat and oily,
that when a {hip is on fire, the fea-water, fo far from extinguifh-
ing, encreafes the fame. The Chemifts know how to extraé oil
from falt, and Ariftotle fays, Quoniam mari fuum pinguc eft, quod
oleum demonftrat quod in fale eft. Befides this, in many places
the bottom of the fea is covered with a kind of unétuous loam, or
flime, which, unqueftionably, is formed from the fuperfluous roes
and {pawn of the fifh, which cannot all produce young, nor can
they be all confumed by the other fifh whilft they are freth, altho’
they hunt for it with the greateft eagernefs. It is moreover not
improbable, that {mall fprings or currents of rock-oil, naphtha,
fulphur, or pinguous effluvia of coals, and other flimy and ole~
aginous juices, may arife in the fea as well as the earth.
SEO Pe ay iTe™
This unétuoufnels of the fea has probably fome conneétion with
its effulgence and {cintillations, when the water being, ftirred by
rowing, or otherwife, appears all on fire, which by our mariners-is
called Moorild. I have already in the firft chapter, in treating of
the: Aurora Borealis, or north-light, taken occafion to quote Cap-
tain Heitman’s opinion concerning this phenomenon, and fhall
only obferve here, that Mr. Urban Hierne, the Swedith naturalift,
who in a paflage before cited, derives the fea-falt from the fun,
j udges

Arift. Probl.’
xxii. Qu.
32 e

Noéturnal
corufcations
and effulgence
of the fea.

74

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
judges this fea-light to be a kind of phofphorus, formed from the

luminous particles of the funy and even of the moon, impregnated
by water ;. as is the cafe in the Lapis Bononienfis, and Baldwin’s
phofphorus. But inftead of refting in thefe, or other conjectures,
Yam much more inclined to declare my opinion, that this other-
wife inexplicable phenomenon in the fea, has beén bett illuftrated
(tho’ with room for many additions) by a little piece lately pub-
lifhed at Venice, with the title of Nuovo Scoperto Intorno di
luci Notturne del?’ Aqua Marina. Having no opportunity of fee-_
ing the original, I am the more obliged to the diligent and ins
genious authors of the New Copenhagen Literary Journal, who
have given us the fubftance of it in the xxxixth part, of the 24th
of Sept. 1750, in the following words, “ Our author is the Grit
who has explained the true caufe of this corufcation: He has

- obferved, that in the culph of Venice, the water is luminous

only from the beginning of fummer till the end of harveft, and
that this light is moft copious in places abounding with fea-grafs;
and ftill more when the water is put in motion, either by the
winds, fhips, or oars. In 1746, the author filled a flatk with this
{cintillating water, and carried it home; but it emitted no light,
except only when ftirred in the dark, it immediately fparkled. He
clofely infpe&ted it in the day-time, in order to difcern whether
the water had any thing heterogeneous in it, from whence thefe
emanations of light proceeded ;_ but nothing of this kind appeared
to the naked eye: he therefore ftrained the water through a clofe
fine cloth, the confequence of which was, that the cloth fhone
in the dark, but not the water, however thaken or flirred. This
inclined him to judge, that the lucid fubftance in the water was
fomething diftiné from the water itfelf, efpecially as he perceived
the light, which the cloth emitted, to confift of innumerable lu-
cid particles or points; but not having a microfcope at hand, he
could take no minute view of them. Having fome time after pro~
cured a microfcope, he gathered fome fea-grafs, which is moft apt
to glitter in the night, and upon examining it in a dark place, he
difcerned above thirty of thefe lucid particles on one fingle leaf.
He {hook this grafs over a {heet of paper, when one of thefe par-
ticles fell off ; it was as fubtile as an eye-lafh, and about as long,
and the colour a black yellow: he now made ufe of the micro-

3 _ — {cope,

“NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

f{eope, and plainly faw it to be a living worm, or annular maggot,
confifting of eleven wings, like moft of the larve, with as many
‘mamille on the fides inftead of feet, and both at the head and
rump, four trunks or feelers (antennz or tentacula.) In the pro-
” {ecution of his refearches, he found that all thefe lucid appearances
in the water, arofe from thefe minute and almoft invifible mag-
gots; their whole bodies were lucid, and not fome particular
part only, which is the cafe of fome kinds of reptiles; tho’, when
at reft, their effulgence was confiderably fainter. In {pring thefe
luminous animalcula confine themfelves to the fea-grafs, but in
fummer they are difperfed all over the fea, and moftly on the fur-
face. When thefe noéturnal {cintillations are unufually ftrong and
frequent, the fifhermen account it a fure prognoftic of a ftorm,
or foul weather ; and this proceeds from the greater agitation of
the worms, already fenfible of the approaching changes. This ex-
periment puts it beyond all queftion, that the glittering of the fea,
in a fhip’s courfe, is occafioned by thefe worms; and it is no lefs
certain, that they are the caufe of the light in the Penna-marina,
(a large mufcle) of which Dr. Shaw writes, that they are fre-
quently caught by the Algerine fifhermen ; and in the night their
radiations are fo ftrong, that the fifth neareft to them in the
net are difcernible without any other light. It were to be withed,
that the author had been more precife in his defcription of thefé
animalcula; if his eyes may be relied on, one cannot but judge,

that they are only a fpecies of the Genus. Aphrodite.” Thus far

this author ; to which all my prefent addition fhall be this; the
Ignes lambentes, or lambent flames, fo well known, which by
their hovering about the fhips rigging, and often fettling on the
mafts, tho’ without doing any damage, ftrike a terror into the
feamen; and likewife thofe Ignes fatui, or jack-a-lanthorns, which
deceive the traveller by land, muft, according to this principle, be
no more than worms, bred in the above-mentioned fulphureous
oil, with which both land and fea is filled, but whichis too fub-
tile to be difcerned by day, when even the light of the ftars is
feemingly invifible. |

Part I. ee SECT,

76

Motion of the

fea by cur-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

SB Gl, 1X, |
My fubject brings me at laft to. the feveral motions of the wa-

pnteerband ter in Norway, by the ebb and flood, and by other perpetual cur-

flood,

Hartf. Conj.
Phyfiq. L. 1.
Dife. I. p. 52.

rents; the motion of the fea by winds, or by the impulfe of the
corpufcles of the air, having already in fome meafure been confi-
dered in the firft chapter. The motion of the fea is generally
from eaft to weft, tho’ it be not always apparently fo to us; for
the earth revolving round its axis with a conftant rapidity, and in
an oppofite direGtion from weft to eaft, and the water as a more
lax element, not being capable of equal velocity, but fomewhat
flower in its progreffion, the furface thereof feems to be in a con-
trary and retrograde motion. .The motion of the water is in fome
meafure influenced by the fun, but not to fuch a degree here as
in the warmer countries; where its rays being more perpendicu-
lar, act with the greater force *. i ;

Another motion in the fea is interrupted, and mixes with the
general {tream, occafioning the water alternately to rife and fall

within the twenty-four hours, when the flood proceeds from the
eaft, and the ebb from the weft, and thefe alternatives fall out.

regularly according to the courfe of the moon, {0 that they are
very little varied by the fhifting of the winds. The greateft height
of the flood here is eight feet, but much more ufually from four
to fix, which is far fhort, of the height in the Netherlands, and
England,the water being checked in the ftrait betwixt Calais and
Dover, but having more room to extend itfelf in the north-fea+,
That this motion, in other refpects one of the greateft myfteries
in nature, is, as to its original caufe dependent on the moon, can-
not well be controverted: But whence this influence of the cele-
{tial bodies on the waters of our globe; whether, according to the
fentiment of the ancients, the rays of the moon leave the fea im-

* The current in fome places is remarkably ftrong and impetuous, as where it
is extremely ftraitened and confined at the bottom by ledges of fheers,’ rocks, or
fand-banks, at a {mall diftance from the fhore; and being thus contraéted into a
narrow channel, is fo difficult to ftem, that a boat muft either be drawn along by
hands on fhore, or wait fome time till the current abates.

+ Mr. Lucas Debes, in his defcription of the ifland of Faro, relates fomethin
ftrange of a frefhwater-lake near Famoye, a town on a hill of a middling height,
that it regularly keeps time with the ebbing and flowing of the fea. As the impref-
fion of the moon upon our atmofphere cannot be ftronger on this frefh lake than on

others, this muft be fuppofed to have a fubterraneous communication with the fea,
through fome vaft and extraordinary hiatus.
preg-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWVAY.

pregnated with an intumefcent or fermenting power, by which it
begins to work alternately, with different forces, like new liquor
in a cafk; or whether Defcartes comes nearer the truth, in ad-
vancing, that it is only the atmofphere of the moon, which makes
an impreffion on all fublunary bodies (of which patients in certain’
difeafes have very fenfible experience) but moft on the fea, where,
accordingly the impreflion is moft obfervable: this muft, as it has
hitherto been, remain a difficult problem *, even to our inquifi-
tive age. And, indeed, there is no abfolute neceflity that our
great Mafter fhould in this life admit us, as his {cholars, and:
the moft knowing are but novices, into all the arrangements and
operations of his almighty power and infcrutable wifdom. I ra-
ther think it were beft to reft in a devout admiration of thefe’
things, than to fubje& them to an arrogant and prefumptuous’
decifion.

“I
~J h

Sree te Sok,

There is another kind of current, or motion of the water in they, stone.
fea of Norway, remarkable, and fomewhat relative to the ebb *2™.2%

What it is ta~

and flood, namely the Maleftrom, or Mofkoeftrom, in the 68th * & #4

diftance.

degree, in the province of Nordland, and the diftria of Lofoden, .
and near the ifland Mofkoe, from which the current takes its.
name. Its violence and roarings exceed thofe of a cataraét, being,

* <¢ Le fluide pefant et elaftique, dont notre terre eft environnée, doit comme tous les
liquides, s’elever ou s’abaiffer dans les endroits, ot des caufes etrangeres detruiffent
Pequilibre, d’ou viennent, dans les tems reglés, des changement dans la preffion de
Vair. Le flux et reflux admiré de tout tems, mais inexplicable avant Newton nous
fournit la refolution de ce probleme. Nous voyons cette grande maffe d’eau s’elever
deux foix toutes les vingt-quatre heures, dans le tems que la lune eft ou directement
au deffus de nous, ou dans le point oppofé. Noétre air, par la méme raifon, et dans
le méme tems doit auffi changer fa figure fpherique en celle d’un fpheroide allongé
dont le grand diametre paffe par Ia lune. Le foleil, qui de méme qu’elle traverfe’ .
tous les jours deux fois, notre meridien, produiroit le méme effet, fifa diftance plus.
grande ne mettoit entre fon action et celle de Ja lune le rapport der a4+4, Le con-
cours de ces deux aftres dans les tems de la pleine et de Ja nouvelle lune augmente les
elevations de la mer, et doit augmenter de meme les marées invifibles de l’air, et elles
doivent etre plus petites dans les quadratures, lorfque les actions des deux luminaires
font oppofées entre elles. Elles font d’ailleurs proportionées 4 leur diftance plus ou
moins grande de laterre. Et les declinaifons de la lune dans de certains licux ren-
dent tous les jours une des deux marées, tant dans l’airque dans la mer plus grande
que l’autre.” Bibhioth. Raifonnee de ’an 1746, T. xxxvit. p. 299, 300. This ex-
tract from Dr. Mead’s treatife, De Imperio Solis ac Lune in Corpora Humana, &c.
is the moft appofite of any, and I can confirm it by the inftance of a lady but lately
dead at Bergen, the calves of whofe legs, in the time of her pregnancy, fo punétually
{welled and abated with the efflux and reflux of the fea, that the time of tide could
be determined without looking towards the fea.

heard

78

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

heard to a great diftance, and without any intermiffion, except
a quarter every fixth hour, that is, at the turn of high and low
water, when its impetuofity feems at a ftand, which thort inter-
val is the only time the fifhermen can venture in: but this mo-
tion foon returns, and, however calm the fea may be, gradually
increafes with fuch a draught and vortex as abforb whatever

_ comes within their {phere of action, and keep it under water for

In Mundo
Subterr. C. x.
Lib. iii. p.
B47.

fome hours, when the fragments, fhivered by the rocks, ap-
pear again. This circumftance, among others, makes {trongly
again{ft Kircher and others, who imagine that there is here an
aby{s penetrating the globe, and iffuing in fome very remote
parts, which Kircher is fo particular as to affign, for he names
the gulf of Bothnia. But after the moft exaé refearches which
the circumftances will admit, this is but a conje€ture without

foundation ; for this and three other vortices among the Ferroe

Nordifch
Chorograph.
P. 233, 234+

iflands, but fmaller, have no other caufe, than the collifion of
waves rifing and falling, at the flux and reflux, againft a ridge of
rocks and fhelves, which confine the water fo that it precipitates
itfelf like a cataract; and thus the higher the flood tifes, the
deeper muft the fall be; and the natural refult of this is a whirl-
pool, or vortex, the prodigious fuction whereof, is fufficiently |
known by lefler experiments. But what has been thus abforbed,
remains no longer at the bottom than the ebb lafts; for the fuc-
tion then ceafes, and the flood removes all attraGtion, and permits
whatever had been funk, to make its appearance again. Of the
fituation of this amazing Mofkoeftrom we have the following ac-
cout from Mr. Jonas Ramus, ‘ ‘The mountain of Helfeggen, in
Lofoden, lies a league from the ifland Ver, and betwixt thefe
two, runs that large and dreadful ftream called Mofkoeftrom, from
the ifland Mofkoe, which is in the middle of it, together with

feveral circumyjacent ifles, as Ambaaren, half a quarter of a league

northward, Iflefen, Hoeyholm, Kieldholm, Suarven, and Buck-

holm. Mofkoe lies about half a quarter of a mile fouth of the

- land of Ver, and betwixt them thefe {mall iflands, Otterholm,

Flimen, Sandflefen, Skarholm. Betwixt Lofoden and Mofkoe, the
depth of the water is between thirty-fix and forty fathoms, but
on the other fide, towards Ver, the depth decreafes fo as not to

afford a convenient paflage for a veflel, without the rifk of {plit-

ting

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

ting on the rocks, which happens even in the calmeft weather :
when it is flood, the ftream runs up the country betwixt Lofoden
and Mofkoe, with a boifterous rapidity, but the roar. of its impe-
tuous ebb to the fea, is fcarce equalled by the loudeft and moft
dreadful cataracts; the noife being heard feveral leagues off, and
the vortices or pits are of fuch an extent and depth, that if a fhip
comes within its attraction, it is inevitably abforbed and carried
down to the bottom, and there beat to pieces againft the rocks;
and when the water relaxes, the fragments thereof are thrown up
again. But thefe intervals of tranquillity are only at the turn of
the ebb and flood, in calm weather, and laft but a quarter of an
hour, its violence gradually returning. When the ftream is moft
boifterous, and its fury heightened by a ftorm, it is dangerous to
come withina Norway mile of it, boats, fhips, and yatchs having been
_ carried away, by not guarding againft it before they were within
its reach. -It likewife happens frequently, that whales come too
near the ftream, and are overpowered by its violence; and then it is
impoffible to defcribe their howlings and bellowings in their fruit-
lefs ftrugeles to difengage themfelves. A bear once attempting to

{wim from Lofoden to Mofkoe, with a defign of preying upon the

fheep at pafture in the ifland, afforded the like fpedtacle to the
people; the ftream caught him, and bore him down, whilft he
roared terribly, fo as to be heard on fhore. Large ftocks of firs and
pine-trees, after being abforbed by the current, rife again, broken
and torn to fuch a degree, as if briftles grew on them. This plainly
fhews the bottom to confift of craggy rocks, among which they are
whirled to and fro. ‘This ftream is regulated by the flux and reflux
of the fea; it being conftantly high and low water every fix hours,
In the year 164.5, early in the morning of Sexagefima-Sunday, it
raged with fuch noife and impetuofity, that on the ifland of
Mofkoe, the very ftones of the houfes fell to the ground.’ So far
Mr. Ramus, whofe account perfealy agrees with thofe given me
by others, efpecially Mr. J. Althand of Ethne, who in his
younger years was chaplain there, and confequently had many
opportunities of obferving variety of circumftances. Mr. Peder Dats,
who lives on the very fpot, will admit of no other caufe of this
natural prodigy; and in contradiétion to the opinion of the Danith
poet Arreboe, in his ftanzas on fubterraneous watery abyfles, he
Parr I. ¥ affirms

80

The like vor-
tices in Fer-

roe.

Ferroe Refe-
rata, cap. 1.

P: 45:

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.
affirms this vortex to arife only from the violence and rapidity of
the daily ebb and flood, occafioned by the contraction of its courfe
betwixt the rocks, whereby, in calm weather, but much more
when the fea is rouzed by the wind, this Mofkoeftrom is rendered
fo dangerous and dreadful, both on account of its found, and the
furious agitation of its mountainous waves. |

For the illuftration of this ftrange phenomenon, I fhall adda
defcription of three vortices, equally rapid, but not bottomlefs,
here in the north-fea, near the ifland of Ferroe: What the late
Rev. Mr. Lucas Debes, fuperintendant there writes of them, de-
ferves to be read in his own words: ‘* In Ferro are three whirl-
pools, one betwixt the iflands of Vider, Suine, and Bord, but here
is no great danger: the fecond is off the ifland of Sand, near
Dalsflaes ; it is diftinguifhed by the appellation Querne, i. e.
mill-wheel, and in blowing weather, or a high tide, is dangerous;
but the ereateft danger lies in the third, which is jouthward of
the Suder ifland, and runs round Sumboe-munk. Thefe, and the
like whirlpools, are not occafioned by any extraordinary aby{s, or
fubterraneous cavities, into which the water is violently attraéted
in the time of ebb, and again ejected at the time of flood; as
fome imagine the flux and reflux, over the whole ocean, to refult
from the like caufes; for if this were the cafe, it would not be
attended with fuch a terrible found, a deep bottom making a
fill water; but the real caufe lies in the convexity of the bottom,
interfeGed with canals or trenches. |
- [have made the moft diligent refearch into thefe whirlpools,
having been fent from Ferroe with two perfons, deputed with pub-
lic powers, to negociate fome provincial matters ; and, on this
occafion, one of them, John Joenfen, an inhabitant of Suderoe,
informed me, that he was the firft, who ventured in a row-boat on
the fouthern whirlpool, which runs from Suderoe round Sumboe-
munk, and from his own certain and long experience, gave me
the following account: This ftream, is in itfelf very dreadful and
dangerous, efpecially in a ftorm or ftrong tide, it abforbs every
thing near it, and immediately plunges it to the bottom, infomuch
that a large fhip, within its draught, 1s infallibly fwallowed up. It
is but a few years fince the above-mentioned John Joenfen, about
Chriftmas, faw a large fhip driven into this ftream by a ftorm,

firft

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
firft it mounted with its prow foremoft, then was reverted with
its ftern uppermoft, the furf flying over the maft head; but in
a very fhort time he faw no more of it. That expert navigator
Bagge Vandel, makes mention of this vortex, adding in particular

concerning Peter Oddevald, mafter of a veffel, that both he and

the {hip’s company informed him, that the fhip was toffed about
in it before he had any fenfe of the danger, and inftantly he loft
all power of fteering her; that the water broke on all fides into

the fhip, flying up to the maft head; that the fails were of no

fervice to extricate him, the weather being quite calm. To which

the mafter added, that he had never before been in any danger
like it; but that at laft God was pleafed to help him, and that
by the turn of the tide he got without the draught, and arrived
fafely at Thorfhaven, the place of his deftination. |
But, according to the report of the faid John Joenfen, the bot-
tom, near this vortex, lies about eighty or ninety fathoms deep,
ever which the ftream runs fmooth and filent; after this is another
circle, compafling the vortex, at the depth of from twenty-five to
thirty, or thirty-five fathoms, and here the fea, fermented by the
ftream, begins to be agitated, to attraét, and whirl round; after.

wards the bottom rifes fo as to be but eight, ten, or twelve fathoms.

deep, and rifes in a winding circle, which increafes gradually in
four {piral windings: on this {hallow ground, are likewife protu-
berances like the crefts on mountains, not more than eight fathoms
deep from the furface of the water, whereas, the {pace between is
from ten to twelve fathoms deep; and hence it is, that fifhing-
boats which come into this unequal bottom, are, by the ftream cir-
culating round thefe rocks, whirled about like a mill-ftone, with
fuch rapidity, that young perfons who are not ufed to the whirl-
ing, grow giddy, and lay themfelves down in the bottom of the
boat; and befides this motion, the boat likewife undergoes a ro-
tation round the large {piral circle, formed by the nature of the
bottom: |

In the third place, there are betwixt thefe four {piral fhallows,
three canals, or trenches, where the fea moves gently round in
{mall circles, and beyond them, eaftward, where the thallows
commence, is a draught like a fluice, thro’ which the ftream is
carried, tho’, within, its force and agitations are not fo violent.

3 The

St

82

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

The depth of thefe canals is from twenty-five to thirty and thirty=

five fathoms; and from the difparity of the depths, andthe ealy

whirling of the water in them, the bottom appears to refemble
the land, that is, to confift of eminences and vallies. |

Fourthly, in the middle of this vortex is a deep pit, which on
its banks meafures from fifty to fifty-eight fathoms deep; but in
its middle is generally not lefs than fixty-one. This innermoft
water is on its furface perfectly calm and {mooth, only moving in a
gentle circle, as is manifeft from the foam of the fea; which, on
its devolution from the vortex, moves in a circle. Onthe fouth fide
of this pit, a rock, ten fathom high, rifes out of the water ; it is
called Sumboe-munk, and here the depth of the water is but fi
teen fathoms. North of this rock lie fix fheers, betwixt which,

and the rock, the depth of water is three or four fathoms. And

what is very remarkable (and which I have accordingly taken no-
tice of elfewhere) among thefe {heers the compafs turns round,
in the manner of the vortex, and is fpoilt by the motion. Like-
wife, at fome height on Sumboe-munk, there is this fingularity, —
that in the midft of fummer, and in a ftrong funfhine, the people
who go thither to catch birds, can hardly ftand in their ambuf

_ eades for cold; befides, the very birds which breed and live there,

are fo extremely bare of flefh, that their whole fubftance is little
more than their feathers; but of the caufe of this fingular cold,
I can only form uncertain conjectures. The water about Ferroe,
however effentially cold, yet by its faltnefs and agitation, ufually
attemperates the winter’s feverity in Ferroe; I cannot therefore -
comprehend, how the frequent agitations of this ftream againft
the rock, fhould by an effe& quite oppofite, occafion fuch an ex-
traordinary cold. It might, by way of a folution, be faid, that there
being a magnetic power in thefe fheers, as the centre of thefe round
thallows, there muft in the other round fhallows be a ftrong mag-

net, which, befides the force of the current, rapidly draws large

fhips from their courfe; and if it be granted, that fuch magnets
are there, then I {ubmit it to the judgment of others, whether the
caufe of this fingular cold is to be fought for in thefe magnetic

powers. Be
Fifthly, north of the vortex, towards the Suder ifland, there
are other protuberances in the bottom, againft which the current
a 1S

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

#s in like manner impelled, and ‘the agitation attended with a
very dreadful noife. A clear idea of what is defcribed in the
foregoing account cannot be perfectly conveyed by a defcription.
‘The judicious reader will readily conceive, what a perilous place
fuch a vortex muft be in a hard gale of wind, and a full tide;
fince even in a calm, when the current is moft gentle, and at the
turn of the tide, which is the only time fifhermen can venture
out, the boats are whirled round on the furface of it.

The whirlpool, below the ifle of Sand, continues circulating
to its innermoft centre, and is of no: great depth in the middle.
The third whirlpool, betwixt the northward iflands, I have vifited
twice myfelf; and upon approaching it, the boat was attra@ed
towards it, with fuch force, that it was with great difficulty the
people prevented the ftream from getting the better of us, Jabour-
ing at the oars on one fide, and fteering with them on the other.
If a boat be caught by the ftream, the current firft whirls it twice
round, and then twice round in a contrary direction, this alter-
native continuing four or five times; from which the nature of
the bottom becomes eafily determinable. '

_. Thefe abyfles have engaged the attention of many ingenious
heads, the depth of the waters being fuch, that no one could,
for a long time, venture to found the bottom, fo that the general
opinion among the learned was, that they were gulphs, or abyfies,
fuch as caufed the ebb and flood. Among others, Kircher writes
of the famous vortex in Norway, called Mofkoeftrom, that it is
a {ea-vortex, attracting the flood under the fhore of Norway,
where, thro’ another abyfs, it is difcharged into the eulph of
Bothnia ; which opinion is embraced by M. Herbin, in a differ-
tation delivered by him at Copenhagen, 1670. But as this opi-
nion is only founded in weak reports, it is totally erroneous, as
will appear from the following arguments. Firft, this Mofkoe-
ftrom runs along the country, betwixt two fhores, or iflands;
where the-bottom, or ground of the fea, is full of eminences, and
without any pits. Of the like nature alfo are all the vortices, both
in Ferroe and in Bothnia. Kircher likewife affirms, that many
fuch abyfies are to be found throughout the whole’ world; but

always near the continent, or betwixt {mall -iflands. Such is the °

fituation of Scylla and Charybdis, in the fea of Sicily, the one be-
a Sa Zz | low

83

Lib. iti. Hy-
drog.

In Tabula

Geographico-

Hydrographi-
ae

84.

WATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
low Sicily, and the other at the point of Calabria; and for the
ereater confirmation of this matter, Kircher, mentions a high rock
ftanding out in the middle of this current, like the rock before
deferibed, in the vortex called Sumboe; and certainly thefe high

_tocks, in the midit of fuch perilous ftreams, are no other than

natural marks fet up ‘by God himfelf, that navigators, having
timely notice, may avoid the danger.

Next, Mr. ‘Peter Clauffon, in his defcription of Norway, writes,
that the gyration of the water is attended with fuch roaring agi-
tations as to be heard many miles off. This would not be the
cafe were this vortex -occafioned by the extraordinary profundity
of the bottom; for it is deepeft in fill waters; but thefe roarings
proceed from the water being retarded, ‘by its contraction betwixt
two iflands, in its progrefs towards the land at the time of ‘flood,
and likewife in its regrefs thro’ the fame narrow paflage at ebb; and,
moreover, the flood is obftructed by fpiral ‘hills, or protuberances,
and lofty angular rocks; from whence it is natural ‘to conclude,
that fuch violent collifions muft caufe a terrible noife. Thirdly,
Mr. Clauffon writes, that this ftream abforbs whole trees, and after
fubmerging them, they come up again with their roots and
branches ftript and torn, which is occafioned by thefe round
dad angular rocks, which in the rapid gyrations of ‘the trees
round them, ftrip the bark, and tear the roots and branches ;
and many of thefe mangled trees are driven to Ferroe, whereas
in an abyfs, they would be carried another way; for then
the cavity would be large and deep, and the water circulate
gently, and whatever was abforbed. would pafs through the abyfs
without any damage ;. as may be {een from the plain inftance of
a‘piece of wood put into.a funnel, afterwards filled with water.”
Thus far Mr. Debes.

At is evident, from the premifes, that fome ancient andforeign
writers, who could not minutely examine the circumftances, mif-
took thefe vortices as the caufe of the ebb and flood; of which
they are, on the contrary, in reality the effe@. I muft not omit
here, that Mr. Jonas Ramus, in the above-mentioned place,
page 220, &c. labours to fhew it probable, that Scylla aud Cha-
tybdis, which have always been accounted to lie upon the coaft of
Sicily, were no-other than this Mofkoeftrom, whither Ulyfles was

actually

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. : 85

aGually driven.in the courfe of his wanderings; the inundations Sissel opi-

of the water (in the Danifh language, Vanders Skyllen) and the is ee
ifland Skarfholm, having given occafion to the names of Scylla a4 Chayb-
and Charybdis. Though I.can by no means agree to the opinion
of this ingenious Gentleman, concerning Ulyfies’s voyage, yet, in
proving the \probability of it in another learned piece, it muft be
confefled, that he has given proofs of an uncommon erudition and.
genius, and as ‘to the Mofkoeftrom, I thall exhibit. his opinion
in his own words, that then the reader may adopt as much and
as little of it-as he pleatfes. Y
“¢ Halogaland appears to'be one of the firft inhabited provinces
in Norway; for foon after the Trojan war, Ulyffes, whofe name
was Outin, failing to the extreme limits of the great ocean, ,ar-
tived in a dark country, of which he gives the following defcrip-
tion ; it was full of high mountains, reaching to the very clouds,
and perpetually covered with mifts and thick darknefs, fo that
they never enjoyed the benefit of the fun, neither at its tifing nor
fetting, and there he met with two jhorrible fea-vortices, Scylla
and Charybdis, the noife of which ftruck him with terror, before
he.came near them; and then he faw a violent ebullition of the
fea, like a boiling-kettle, throwing up froth and fmoke, which
_were rapidly carried up in the air. All this <has by many
been falfly interpreted -of the ftrait near Sicily, though that
ifland ‘has none of thofe high mountains, ,covered with dark
‘clouds, nor that gloominefs impenatrable to the rays of the fun,
nor a perillous roaring ftream, fo as to be impafiable without ex-
treme danger. But all this perfectly coincides with Mofkoe-
ftrom, near Helleland, where there are, on the fide of Lofode,
thofe high mountains called Helfegeen, the fummits of which,
according to Homer’s defcription, were inacceflible to-any. man; tho’
he had twenty hands and feet, and in winter involyed.in cont;-
nual mifts and darknefs; for from the 27th of November to the
25th of December, old ftile, the fun is never feen there. © There,
likewife, are thofe terrible ebullitions, and horrible founds, whigh
fo terrified Ulyffes at Scylla and Charybdis ;, circumftances quite
fimilar to the roaring fall betwixt Helfeggen and Mofkoe, where |
the ftream overflows the intermediate rocks and iflands, and thus
came to be called Scilla, from Skillers; and on the other fide of

3 Motkoe,

86

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
Mofkoe, are alfo iflands and rocks, againft which the ftreambreaks, -
among thefe, particularly, is the ifland Skarholm, which may se
taken ‘Ae Charybdis. |

The ancient geoeraphers are known to have had fome informa- ,
tion of fea-vortices in the north, and according to their opinion,
lying under the north-pole, as Jacobus Cnoxen of Bufcodun, in —
his Itinerarium, and Mercator in his Atlas, pretend, whofe opi-
nions alfo Bertius has followed, and given a reprefentation of fome
fea-abyfles under the north-pole, together with an ifland, which
he calls Ruft; but as we-are now fenfible that there is no going
within goleat’ degrees of the north-pole, on account of the extreme
cold, and of the ice-mountains; therefore this fea-abyfs, of which
they had heard, can be no other than this Mofkoeftrom, which
lies no farther north than a little beyond the fixty-eighth degree ;
and the navigators, who frequent the more northern feas, have
hitherto met with no other vortices. And as for the ifland Ruf,
near which this fea-vortex is placed, the fimilitude of the name
fhews it to be the ifland Roeft, which is but four Norway miles

‘from the Mofkoeftrom. This ifland of Ruft, may poflibly be the

fame nefs, or cape, in the sie to which. Pliny gives the name

of Rubeas.

Ulyfies afterwards reports, that ten days after itive by Cha-
rybdis, he came to the ifland Ogygia, which he defcribes, as di-
vided by four rivers, each having its particular outlet. This re-
markably correfponds with the ifland Hinde, which is fo inter-
feGted by deep creeks, in the fouth, north, and eaft parts, as to be

divided into four parts, of which the fouthern belongs to Salten,

both the weftern parts to Lofoden and Wefteraalen, and the north
part to Sennien. One of thefe creeks is called Ocgursfiord, or
Agisfiord, an appellation which has fome affinity path that of
Ogygia; and that Ulyfies, whofe name was Outin, lived feven

years in this ifland, married and had children there, agrees with

the account of our chronicles concerning Outin, where his genea-
logy is called Haleigatal, becaufe his defcendants lived in Haloga-
land, from which Outin’s Hagen Ladejarl derives his origin, and
according to Sturlefen, this genealogy has thence obtained the

name of Haleigatal.
: Plutarch,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 84

Plutarch, likewife, in his treatife De Facie in orbe Lune, makes
mention of fome Grecian people, who lived in the iflands of the
north, where the fun was vifible for thirty days together; and.
did not, during that time, defcend above an hour beneath the
horizon. This can be applicable to no other iflands, than thofe
in Helleland and Salten; for to this prefent time, neither in the
eaft or weft, has any ifland been difcovered, with any fuch phe-
nomena; but on the ifland of Dum, in Helleland, the fun, in
fummer, about the longeft day, is clearly feen both day and night,
which fhews this ifland to lie in the 66 + degree under the aréic
- polar circle, where the frigid zone begins; but the farther one
advances towards the north, the higher the fun is feen at mid-
night, aboye the horizon. It is very poffible that Pliny might
have intelligence of this ifland of Dum, if that, which he calls
Dumna, be the very fame ifland. And when Plutarch further
writes, that the Greeks on that ifland, were perfons of abftemious
lives, and accounted a moft venerable race, this tallies with Stur-
lefen’s relation of Outin, and his retinue, namely, that they were
held to be gods, and that divine honours were paid to them.”
So far I have cited from Mr. Ramus. |

Another remarkable particular in the waters of the north, and
withal, to me more unaccountable, than what has hitherto been

-mentioned of the Mofkoeftrom, is the Kulftrom, as it is called,

_ four Norway miles off Bergen, in the parifh of Lindaas, Tunning
betwixt the continent and many {mall iflands, and to which we
may properly apply the motto, Semper contrarius effo, from the
continual oppofition of its courfe to that of others, flowing when
they ebb, and ebbing at their floods. Whether this irregularity
be owing to the length of its courfe, in feveral {mall channels be-
tween the iflands, the water being fo long detained as not to ebb,

till it returns from the fea in other places, or what other caufe
further experience may fuggeft, I pafs over; concluding, with
this admonition, that .on this Kulftrom, the inadvertency of a pee
pilot is extremely dangerous, of which there was once a melan-
choly inftance in the lofs of feven northland barks.

ra peeely 8 Aa SRT

83 NATURAL HISTORY ot VORWAY.

See Miles ARC. ig

ay From the north-fea, and the lg ates I now proceed to.the -
iin, i frefh {fprings, rivers, and lakes. Here, as in other places, thele
are not. equally light, pure, and wholfom, their qualities de-
pending on their .bottom,, or: the, {trata of earthy or ftone which
they meet with in their courfé, generally bringing with. them
particles of what they have carried off by the way.. As to this cir-
cumftanee, our Norway {prings are not much to be. boafted of ;
for their beds,..or bottoms, fhew ther to. have, fo, much chalk,
clay, of oaker in them, that a drop ‘on .a plate; leaves a white,
brown, or yellow {pot. _However,! the’ frefh-water in Norway, in
general, may) be confidered. as good and falubrious, 1 may fay,
very gdod, in. comparifon with others, 'as the water, together with
the air, tnqueftionably, contributes greatly to the’ vigour of the
inhabitants, who enjoy an uninterrupted health, to a length of
days, more general and far beyond the pericd allotted to the in+
habitants of moft other parts of Europe: The common people ef
pecially, hold out to a very advanced ages: for they live more
upon water, than wine and other ftrong liquors. The metal, of
which there is moft abundance, both here’ and in Sweden, and
which confequently moft of all tinges the frefh-waters, is:iron, for
the aqueous particles being analyted, there femains a ferruginous
matter fubfided, which the magnet atfrattsy and which has upon
motit people a laxative effect. |
There is likewife, no doubt, that our county. alton feel
kinds of medicinal {prings, tho’, for want of due fearch, few fuch
are become known; as the Lanse M. Lechftor complains in the
following. words, which I the rather infert, .as' they at the fame
time mention’ one of ..the afore-mentioned. medicinal {prings.

7

in Diffextati- © Coronidis loco monendium duxi, haud daefte Norvegiz fontes

one de Medi-

camentisNor- medicatos, deefle autem, | qui in horum vires et principia. inqui-
vr atiahe rant, folertes' naturalium rerum ftudiofos. Meminijenum, me 'vi-
Cot diffe fontem (quem paucis abhinc annis. invenit fedulus nature
{crutator avunculus meus Carolus Robfham in dizcefeos Chriftia-
nienfis diftri@u, cui nomen Hackedalen, circa villam quam habi-
tat vulgo Buraas dictam ) minerali quadam aqua fcaturientem, a

‘cuyus Aa convaluere variis morbis laborantes, ita ut etiam fama

I ad

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

. ad exteros venerit, qui magnam hujus aque copiam fibi apportart
curarunt.” About two years ago, when I made a vifit to Coun-
fellor Swerdrup, proprietor of the iron manufacture at Hakkedal,
he carried me to a fpring, which is probably that mentioned by
—M. Lochftar; upon tafting it, I found the water light and pala-
table, and, as the proprietor informed me, it is very falubrious ;
efpecially in hy pocondriac nee by attenuating and rectifying | the
infpifiated blood.

Mr. Peter Nicholas Unddlin’ 3 in his defeription of Norway, re-
lates from an old book, called Speculum Morale (doubtlefs
a manufeript now loft) that the water of Birkedahl fen in Sund-
moer, in this diocefe, has a petrifying quality, and that within
three years it turns hazle into ftone, but not ‘elder, which grows
near it. As fuch a:power is inherent in {ome waters*, and I myfelf
have feveral undeniable petrefactions of beech, hazle, willow, and
other wood, I made no difficulty of giving credit to this account;
and tho” it appeared a little fufpicious, when I firft received fome
of this pretended petrefaction from the fen of Sundmoer, yet I
fufpended my judgment, till laft fummer; when on my vifitation,
Thad an opportunity of informing myfelf more particularly from
the minifter of the place, Mr. Jver Munthe, at Volden. I found
that there was no fuch thing as petrifying water in Birkedal-fen,
but that on one fide of it, there is a piece of an Amianthus, or
Afbeftos rock, which being divifible into long pliant threads, like
flax, and being more like wood than ftone, has been given out
for petrified wood; and brought the neighbouring morafs into
ereat and undeferved honour and reputation. This is fo far from
being any thing new, that it is a very ancient tradition, and
many intelligent perfons have been deceived by it; among others,
Girald Cambrenfis, as appears from his’ Topograph. Hibern.
cap. vill. where he fays, ‘ Eft et in Norvegia fons fimilis nature,
fed tanto tamen efficacie majoris, quanto ad frigidam zonam
magis accedit. In hoc enim non tantum ligna, fed et lina linez-
que tele per annum impolite duriffimum in lapidem congelantur,
ae bis water doth adtually pervade, either longitudinally or tranfverfally, the mi-
_. ute interftices of the wood, fills it with lapideous particles, | dilates it, and when
by a cauftic corrofive power, which it derives from lime, it has deftroyed the wood,

it then appears in the form of the vegetable into which it penetrated. Hamb. Mag,
Vol. Il. p. 162.

eae

a

SO

go NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

unde et Waldemaro Danorum regi noftris diebus regnanti, quidam
epifcopus Norvegie Afloenfis, quod anno preterito probandi caufa
ab eodem fufceperat, nature jam retulit bipartite: parte enim
media fonti impofita lapis erat, altera parte, qua extra jacuerat, in
fua permanente natura.”

ory ty. Oat Ria, ¢ | Per

Brooks, Ri. From the many fprings iffuing out of the mountains in Norway,

vers, rivulets,

bee and from the vaft maffes of fhow accumulated on the fummits of

foeeny i them, whence, at times gently diffolving, they fend down great

| quantities of water, I have already taken occafion to obferve the
providence of the wife and good Creator, in thefe innumerable
fupplies of water, which ftreaming down the mountains, water
their parched fides, and in their further progrefs, refreth the vallies
and the level country beneath. By the junétion and confluence of
feveral of thefe rivulets, are formed thofe large ftreams and rivers,
which in the old northern language, were called by the general
name of Elven, from whence one of the largeft rivers in Ger-
many, by way of eminence, derives it name of Elbe (Elven.)
I fhall here fpeak of fome of the moft noted of thefe Elven, ac-
cording to the beft informations I could procure.

The Nied, is a river iffuing from Tydalen, on the Borders of
Sweden, runs weftward into the lake Selboe, afterwards, winds
to the northward, pafling by the city of Drontheim, to which it
anciently gave the Latin, as well as a Norwegian, name of Nideros,
or Nidrofia. | | : |

Sule-Elv, fo called from the mountain Sule (Sulefield) from
whence, defcending in a rapid courfe, it runs through Nordale
into the fea. |

Gaulen, or Gulen, has its rife eaftward, near Skarsfield, a moun-
tain in the north, on this fide Roraas, and after running about
twenty leagues weftward, through Aalen, Hlotaalen, Storen, and
Melhuus, difcharges itfelf into the fea, about a league to the
welt of Drontheim. In the year 1344, great damages were done
by a furprifing inundation of this river, which, to the aftonifh-
ment of the country, feemed totally drained, but in the mean
time had buried itfelf under-ground, from whence it again burft

- forth with fuch violence, that the earth and ftones thrown up by
: the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

the eruption, filled the valley, and made’a kind of dam, which,
however, was broke through, and wafhed away by the force of the
water: On this occafion, befides fome churches, forty-eight farm-
houfes were deftroyed, and two hundred and fifty perfons drowned.

Otteroen is the largeft river on the fide of Agde, running thirty
leagues from the mountain, through Setterdale and Effie, to the
cataract of Wiland, into which it empties itfelf. |

Syre, or the river Sire, rifes near the mountain Lang, runs thro’
the vale of Syre into the lake of Lunde, in the diocefe of Chri-
ftianfand, afterwards it difcharges itfelf into the fea, not through a
broad mouth, or by a gentle fall, as ufual to other rivers, but
Shoots into it like an arrow, through a very contracted ftrait be-
twixt rocks, with fuch an impetuofity as creates, even in the
calmeft weather, a great agitation in the water, for the length of
two leagues, and from my own experience, I can fay, that the
feamen mutt be very careful of coming too near it *.

Nid, which gives name to the lordfhip of Nedenes, and Skeen,
from whence a town is fo called, both iffue out of Tellemark ;
and are equally large. Great quantities of timber for faw-mills
being floated on them, the falls have, with infinite labour, been
diverted, by canals and paffages cut through the rocks.

The river Tyrefiord, or Dramme, difcharges itfelf into the fea
near Bragnefs, whither it alfo brings timber; near Honefofle, it
is joined by two large rivers, of which one comes from Oedale,
and the other from Hadeland.

Loven, or Laven, rifes in the higheft part of Nummedal, and
after watering Kongfberg, lofes itfelf in the fea near Laurwig,
which derives its name from it.

Glaamen, or Glommen, is the largeft river in all N orway, and
as fuch diftinguifhed by the name of Stor-Elven, the great river;
from the foot of the mountain of Doffe it runs a long way thro’
Oefterdale and Soloe, afterwards joins the Vorme, another large

river, which comes out of Mioes and Guldbrandfdale ; then tra-

verfing the lake Oeyeren, it haftens to Sarp, near Friederichftadt,
whofe chief dependance is the timber trade.

Tt is unqueftionably from fome fuch confinement of a narrow outlet, that the
Rhone protrudes its waters into the lake of Geneva, with fuch rapidity, that to a
confiderable diftance, they retain their natural frefhnefs, without any mixture of
thofe of the lake. .

Parr I, ie b- | Among

92

Floating
lands.

Lib. ii. Ep.

20.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Among the frefh-water lakes*, through which thefe rivers run,

the moft noted are Ryflvand in Nordland, Snaafen, the lake

Selboe, the greater and leffer Mioes, Slirevand, Sperdille, Rand,
Veften, Saren, Modum, Lund, Norfoe, Hvidfoe ;~ Farifvand,
Oeyevand, and feveral others, the fituations of which may be found
in the maps. My prefent defign requires me only to obferve, that
thefe lakes abound in fifth, and are navigable, in cafe of necef=
fity, for large veflels. ‘The hittory of Norway even informs us of
fleets fitted out, and wars carried on in thefe inland feas, betwixt
the kings and their competitors +. In fome of them are alforfloat=
ing iflands, or parcels of land about thirty or forty ells in length,
with trees growing on them, which having been feparated from
the main land, are driven about as the wind fets, and when clofe
to the fhore, are fhoved off with a pole. They are faid to grow,
as it were, by the acceflion of reeds, grafs, weeds, and the like
fubftances. Both the Plinys, efpecially the younger, mention
the like curiofities in Italy, which Kircher has alfo thought worth
notice, in his Mundus Subterraneus, lib. v. cap. 2. particularly the

floating iflands on the lake di Bagni, or Solfatara, four miles from

Tivoli; and, in my opinion, they are not different from thofe
which I have feveral times feen in this country, particularly in
1749, on my return from Chriftiania, when the rains had fwelled
the river near Nitfund to fuch a degree, that it overflowed a con+
fiderable tract on both fides of the valley, rifing above the tops of
the middling trees, and carrying away great quantities of earth and
wood, fome of which floated along fide of my boat. Yet this is not
a matter of fo much. wonder as what is called the Mardyne, which
is frequently met with on the falt-water, in the creeks; thefe are

— level clods compofed of fea-grafs, twigs, and the foam of the fea,

upon which, the fifhermen fay, certain fea-fowls lay their eges. If
this be matter of faét, it muft be acknowledged another inftance
of the providence and wife difpofition of the Creator.

* M. Scheuchzer, in his treatife on the Menfuration of the Height of Mountains,
judicioufly fhews the wife difpofition of Providence, in providing ‘for rivers, efpeci-
ally in mountainous countries, room to fubfide and break the violence of their
fall or courfe, in the lakes where they fpread their waters. Without this provifion,
they might by their inundations in fummer, when the fnows melt on the moun-
tains, occafion great damage to the grafs and corn in the vallies beneath. Philofoph,
Tranfac. Vol. xxxv. N°1

+ Several veffels of confiderable burden are ftill ufed in Faris-Vand, and fome
others, for the carriage of goods, efpecially for the ufe of the founderies.

| SECT.

eee tae
pee

Bishi rh X, |

"Lcd rekon

; shiners! as it peepee

vat y pate Ay
+f iy 4 F . oe

coe
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WS LOUIE S ts ee Vf / ¢ V¢

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20%7UI-Y? PDO V.

af “aes. - an
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yeastisere —Y yl

aot ‘* vt < ile Peed 2 ae
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Lb tee Se <n, “Ss UN SS Ra Pe

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one = =
SS SNS 5,
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DIA QS

SS
AN Fr 5 és ayy WK Fee tate
hj, € RR

Se RES ARI i ee YW SRORN GE.

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at's, He Tet RA, pe ee Sea ee Sn ee ee ae ee a ee)
Riou RN ET I EE PET TT ES ESE = AT TEESE EL TE LT ES LNA I RI om 1K. CARAS 2 EP ie? ee a

va
-_

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. —_ 93

"SE CT. xt

tid any “gent diftance from the edi the rivers of N orway are Great advan-
tages of thefe

hot navigable for veflels of confiderable. burden; for though in ae
many places, there be a fufficient depth of water, yet the water- nd forward.
falls, caufed by the intervening rocks and clifts, are unfutmountable ae
obftacles, the ftream. precipitating itfelf from a height of 6;°8, or

10 fathoms, where only mafts and fuch timber can be floated down,

and many of thefe are deftroyed ; yet the greateft part get” fafely
through, and being: marked: by their owners, are. fecured at the See plate vir,
Lentzes. Thefe are large. ‘booms, fortified with ‘iron bolts, and

laid acrofs feveral parts of the river for flopping the timber. . The
breaking of a: Lentz’ is of fauch ill’ confequenee | to the: timber’
merchants, that in 1675 fuch ani accident whieh: happen’ by any
inundation of the Glommen, oecafioned many bankruptcies among

thet * As thefe-and other tivers perform -the- capital fervice of
conveying from the’ mountains and: forefts thofe mafts:and timbers,’

which without fueh’ cofiveyance would. be abfolutelywelefs with:

refpect: to commerce, - by their feveral waterfalls they are of a
further utility, in in driving feveral: hundred faw-mills, where, with

little —s pa and boards: are fawed. to all a grant

SECT, XIV,

The ft force-of rivers in fottic mountainous countries, dies i wees
the fall from: lofty. rocks redoubles: the’ motion of the: fateryfiom the
may in fome meafute be conceivéd froin what! 1. have already rea rivers.
lated of the fudden fubterraneous courfe of the river Gule, and the”
inundation occafioned by the fubfequent eruption. © But I: thall
heré add another inftance of this kind ftillomore wonderful}: which, :
according to the authentic aecount from ‘whence it is takeny: ‘hap- }
"pened in the year:1702. I mean the fudden immerfion of the fa-

_ mily feat of Borge near Friderickftad into a deep. abyfs. "The par.
ticulars ‘of this unhappy and fingular accident may be feadi in the:
“nova literaria maris baltici ad ann. 1707; Maj! ps 3. wherevis an-!
Bey a draught of the fituation of the place. In the’ night’ of the:

Bs ' The yearly charge of Gach a Lentze or Boom, may in fome places amount to

three or four hundred Rix Dollars, but in return it yields to the owner no lefs.than

a thoufand or eleven hundred, for at leaft thirty thoufand dozen of large pieces of,
timber pafs through it, of which each makes fix or cia planks.

sae fifth

pe

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

fifth of February, of the faid year, that fuperb edifice, which was
fituate over againft Hafflund, together with every thing in it, funk
down into an abyfs of an hundred fathom deep, the gap being
inftantaneoufly filled up by a piece of water, betwixt three or four
hundred ells long, and of half the breadth. The houfe was doubly
walled, but of thefe, as well as feveral high towers, not the leaft
trace was to be feen; with it perifhed fourteen fouls, and two
hundred head of cattle. The lord and lady Weernfekiold, two
children, and the fteward had the good fortune providentially to
fave themfelves. The lady being then near her time, was attended
by a midwife, who in a great confternation came to acquaint
them, that the houfe and ground began to give way, upon which
they immediately crofied the water to a feat of her lord’s brother,
where the very next day the lady was delivered. The caufe of this.
fo extraordinary cataftrophe, was no other, than the aforementioned.
large river Glaamen or Glomen, which precipitating itfelf down
the waterfall near Sarp, had probably for a long time, in its fubter-
raneous concealment, undermined the foundation, * for its courfe.
there is extremely rapid, and the water-fall near Sarp, driving no-
lefs than feventeen mills, is fo violent, that befides the roarings
thereof, which are heard four or five leagues off, its water is thrown:
up into the air to fuch a height, that at fome diftance, in dry

‘weather, it looks like rain; confequently a rainbow may always be

feen here when the fun fhines, its rays being frequently refra@ed
among the drops of water, and thus is exhibited the cleareft idea
of the formation of that meteor. Thefe water-falls in Norway
which are of different height and rapidity, tho’ none equal to this,
are no lefs dangerous, on too near an approach to them than the
above-mentioned Mofkoeftrom. Captain Weernefkiold had fatal
experience of this in the year 1735, when, by inadvertency, the
current of the Sarp water-fall overpowered him, and overfet the
boat. In thefe places fwimming will not fave the life of any ani-
mal, the ducks only excepted, who, after continuing for fome
time out of fight, emerge alive without any hurt, according to the
report of thofe who have diverted themfelves with the experiment.
In ancient times this cataract is faid to have been made ufe of for
* An inftance of the like happened in Switzerland, 1618, when the whole town of

Plurs fuddenly funk in and was never {een afterwards. h
_w the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 95
the execution of traitors, rebels, chiefs of feditions, and the like
pelts of fociety; they were thrown down alive to be dathed by
the boifterous waters againft the points of the rocks, that they
might perifh in a tumult, by a violence analogous to that, to
which they had inftigated others; a punifhment, which, however
fevere, muft be owned to have been very adequate and emblema-
tical. The Egyptian water-falls or cataraéts, mentioned by Pliny,
were probably not fo remarkable as thefe, and fome others, in
Norway, the fall of them from -the rocks not exceeding feven or
eight feet. And as the noife of our catara&ts, how great foever,
has never yet deprived any one of the fenfe. of hearing, Cicero’s
account of the Egyptian Catadupa, may be confidered as vifion-
ary *; though the learned Dr. Richard Pocock, who in his defcrip-
tion of the Eaft, animadverts on. this account, may not have recol-
le&ed other and larger cataraéts, which may be further up the
country. 7 ;

Many of the

i ay Sie lio
bridges over

The bridges. over the rivers in Norway, to the beft of MY the rivers are
knowledge, are not any where walled, but framed merely of tim- ite a
ber, of which are made the ftone-cafes; thefe are large and qua-
drangular, and ferve as pillars or fupporters, being filled with
ftones in order to fettle them. The largeft of this kind, here-
abouts, is the bridge of Sunde in Guldbrandfdale, where the water of
the Great Mioes, which at firft is called Oten and Laagen, begins
to increafe. ‘This bridge, of which it is faid that it is never §-
nifhed, fome repairs being continually neceflary, is a thoufand paces
long, and confifts of forty-three Stone Cafes. Here in the diocefe
of Bergen, where carriages can be very little ufed, it is not thought
worth the while to build {trong and lafting bridges. In many places,
the manner of their conftruGtion is thus; where the narrownefs and
rapidity of the current will not admit of finking any ftone cafes,
thick mafts are laid on each fade of the fhore, with the thickeft
end faftened to the rocks of the mountains; one maft being thus
laid in the water, another is placed upon it, reaching a fathom be-
yond it, and then a third or fourth in the like progreflion to the

* Ubi Nilus ad illa, que catadupa nominantur, precipitat ex altiffimis montibus,
¢a gens, quz illum locum accolit, propter magnitudinem foni, fenfu audiendi caret.

Somn. Scipion. 5.
Cc | middle

96 NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

middle of the ftream, where it is joined with another connection ~
of mafts from the oppofite fide, and this without any other ce-
ment than their contaét, fo that in the paflage over it, efpecially
in the middle, the bridge appears to {wing, which, to thofe who.
are not ufed to it, appears fo dangerous, that they alight from their
horfes till they imagine themfelves out of danger.

Sel Cee deh OV

Ealy way of — The beft pafiage in winter is by-the rivers, efpecially up the

travelling in

ad winter country. As they are every where deeply frozen, the peafants find

water. a very great conveniency in them for conveying their goods to the
towns in their fledges, carriage being fcarce praéticable over the
heights of the mountains. ‘The travellers are conveyed in thefe
fledges with great eafe and expedition, for though the Norway
leagues are very long, yet they go fecurely at the rate of one league
in an hour. Thefe winter roads, likewife yield an agreeable prof-
pect, in the contraft of the green valleys of pine and fir trees,
with the fnow, though the glaring of the latter, efpecially in fun-
thine, foon offends the eye, and here a piece of crape over the face
is of double fervice, as-it likewife preferves the fkin from the

piercing froft. °

CHAP. Iv.
Of the Fertility of Norway in variety of Vegetables.

Src. 1. Great difference in the nature and quality of the fol. Sect. Il. The
Fertility greater than foreigners imagine, and chiefly from two caufes. SEcT.
Ul. Method of Agriculture and pofibility of its improvement. Sect. IV.
Different kinds of grain, as Rye. Scr. V. Barley. Sxcr. VI. Oats.
Secor. VIL. Peas and Vetches. Sect. VII. Wheat and Buck-wheat. Secr.
IX. Hops, Flax and Hemp. Sect. X. Graizing and Hay. Sect. XI.
Excellent roots and garden vegetables.

SECT. I.
Great dif- AVING hitherto difcourfed in general of the air, foil, and
ference in th hi
mo Se water of Norway; and having under farther confideration,
lity of th | Rifcat er
Gey the animate and inanimate fubftances exifting in thofe. elements,

it appears moft regular to proceed to the natural fertility of the
) earth .

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
earth, in corn, grafs, roots, trees, and every other kind of vege-
tables. I fhall give accounts of all thefe from my own know-
ledge, or the credible informations of others, not doubting withal,
but my fucceffors in this work, will finith it with much lef trou-
ble, and much greater perfection ; tho’ to give univerfal {atisfac-
tion, is beyond the moft extenfive knowledge, and the moft cor-
rect judgment.

_ Having {pecified the diverfities of the foil and air in Norway,
which poffibly are greater than in any other country, it will ap-
pear, that vegetable produéts, as dependant thereon, vary in like
manner. Norway is almoft every where fo unfit for agriculture,
tho’ not for pafture, that upon a meafurement of the plowed
lands, Ido not think, the proportion, in refpeé& to the meadows
and woods, the waftes and barren mountains, would be preater,
than as one to eighty; and if the peafants of Norway were not
confiderably aflifted by the great fifheries on the fea-coafts, and
the timber and charcoal-trade for the mines, the graziery, and
the liberty they have of killing game, the country could not be
fuppofed to furnith fubfiftance for above half the inhabitants ; for
as thefe vifibly increafe, and fpread themfelves year after year, fo
feveral tracts of uncultivated land, have been broke up and tilled;
and feveral woods likewife have been burnt, and the land turned
to hufbandry; yet, with all thefe expedients, there would ftill be
a fcarcity in thofe places, where the nature of the earth and the
rocks are not capable of any cultivation. Another misfortune is,
that in fome parts of the moft fruitful provinces, as Gulbrand(da]

7).

9 Pernicious

Ofterdal, Soloer, and elfewhere, the grain is fubje& to mifcarry night frofte.

by fudden frofts, fo that one day it may feem ina flourifhing ftate,
and aftord the pleafing promife of a plentiful harveft, but by the
nipping cold of one night, it appears withered the next day, and
drooping, fo as never to attain to its proper ripenefs. It is to be
obferved, moreover, that in every century, as far as can be afcer-
tained from tradition, the country is vifited with fome unfruitfi]
years, which are remarkably fo, and happen two, three, or four,
fucceflively ; fuch were the years from 1740 to 17443 when the
fun feemed to have loft all its heat and genial power, the vege-
tables grew, but fhort of their natural height, and budded, and
bloomed, without bearing. In thofe years, the trees, likewife,

3 failed

98

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW4Yr.

failed in their growth and ufual verdure, having no fhoots at all,

Abundant
corn harvefts
in fome
places.

at the tips of the twigs. Moft of the grain, that was fown, alfo
perifhed, yielding only empty ears, infomuch that the difappointed
peafant was reduced to extreme diftrefs, from the uncertainty of
any advantages in the labours-and charges of the enfuing year,
Something like this, tho’ in a lefs degree, was felt in other places,
during the above-mentioned calamitous years *, |
All thefe difadvantages do but furnifh more matter for ador-
ing, with the greater admiration, the impartial benignity of the
Almighty Creator, in his provifion for the fuftenance of the peo:
ple of Norway, not only in the variety of other means of fupport,
which fhall be fpecified in their proper place; but by their har-
vefts, and fuccefs in agriculture, which, however inconfiderable,
in re{fpect to thofe of other countries, are much larger than a
foreigner would conceive, till informed by an actual fight of
them. Who would imagine, that Norway, in moft years, fhould
have fome thoufands of tuns of its own grain and produce, to
{pare for the adjacent provinces of Sweden? And who would
imagine the fa&, which Arn. Bernfen reports in his book on.the
fruitfulnefs of Denmark and Norway, that fome farms, even in
the diftrict of Nordland, beyond Drontheim, expend forty, nay,
fome an hundred tuns of barley in feed, and that of a good kind,
tho’ not equal to the rye of this part of the country, which jis
accounted preferable to that of Poland? This fertility of N orway,
even in its moft northern Provinces, as far as Finmark, to the
68th degree, cannot but excite the admiration of thinking per- |
fons, fince a line being drawn from the midft of this fruitful pro-
vince of Nordland, that is, from the diftri@ of Salten, eaftward,
over the mountain Kolen, into Swedifh Lapland, namely, Pitha-
Lapmark, or even more to the fouth, the country is one wild
barren wafte, tho’, according to Mr. Hogftrom’s moft ingenious
and authentic defcription of Swedifh Lapland, lately publithed,
colonies, or new inhabitants, have, at the public charge, and by
order of the government, been fent to cultivate thefe barren parts.
'* If we recollect the weather from the year 1740 to the prefent year 1747, it muft
be allowed very extraordinary, The winters were long and fevere, the fummers but
moderate, with little rain in many places, an almoft continual ftrong wind at north-

eaft. It were to be wifhed that the naturalifts would favour the public with their
thoughts on fo interefting a fubje¢t. Hamb. Mag. B. 1. 2
; or

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 99

For the caufe of fuch a great difference, in point of fertility, at
an equal diftance from the line, the reader muft be referred to
what I have faid in the firft Chapter, Sect. vi. concerning the
difference of the cold and warmth, the fharp and mild air in the
diocefes of Aggerhuus and Bergen, which, tho’ manifeftly in a
parallel latitude, differ as much ‘in refpeét of cold and heat, as if
they were fituate ten degrees from each other. This, as I have
before obferved, is to be attributed to the warm vapours of the
fea, which, fpreading themfelves over the weftern fide, moderate
the winters there, and have the fame effeé in all the maritime di-
ftricts, to a hundred Norway miles north of Bergen; fo that in
fruitfulnefs, Nordland furpafles even this diocefe, though with the
additional advantage of better vallies, and larger traéts for tillage*;
whereas, Swedifh Lapland, which lies in a direé& line behind Nord-
land, is deprived of thefe warm vapours by the Koelen range of
mountains, which intercepts them, as Filefield does in the diocefe
of Bergen.

Next to that of Nordland, the moft fruitful provinces in the
diocefe of Drontheim, are Inderherre and Nummedal; in that
of Bergen, Sognifiord and Vaas; 1n that of Chriftianfand, Jed-
deren, Ryefylk, Raabygdelag, and the lordfhip of Nedenes ; in
the diocefe of Aggerhuus, Hedemark ; all which are not in the
leaft inferior to the beft corn countries in Denmark ; and befides
thefe, are Hadeland, ‘Toten, Romerige, Ringerige, and Gulbrandt
dale, All thefe territories ufually yield grain enough, not only for
the fupport of their inhabitants, but a large furplus, which they
difpofe of among their neighbours, and even among the Swedes.
_ On the other hand, in many places, a third or fourth of the in-
habitants are not in a capacity of laying up a neceflary quantity;
which deficiency, however, is otherwife compenfated to them.

GR 0) ae,

it is moreover, remarkable, that the corn-grounds throughout Namen
the diocefe of Bergen, which, on account of the many mountains, fe

foreigners im-
agine.

* Agreeable to this, is what Thomas Bartholin fays of the caufe of the mild win-
ters in Ferroe, which lies in the middle of the north-fea: Aqua infulas Ferroenfes
allabens, quanquam per fe frigida fit, falfedine tamen fua ex perpetuo motu ple-
rumque producit hyemem temperatam.” Aéta Med. Hafn. ad ann. 1673. Vol. 111.
Eye |

Parr I. | Dd are

1GoO

Caufe of this
fertility.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

are few, as to the beft of my knowledge they, in moft places,
never lie fallow, but are every year plowed and fowed, bear all
kinds of grain, barley and oats efpecially, and not only fix, eight,
or ten fold, but in fome places with a much greater increafe * ;
and the corn is generally allowed to be longer, and the ears fuller,
than what is imported from Denmark and Germany, being infe-
rior only to the Englifh corn, which the Norwegians prefer to any
other. I fhall foon come to treat of every fort of grain, under its
particular head. | |

As to the caufe of this fertility, which may appear very ftrange
to foreigners, tho’ it be ftri@ly true, I fhall give them the follow- -
ing indifputable account of it: The Almighty Creator, fo wife
and bountiful in his economy towards mankind, and whofe great-
nefs appears moft confpicuoufly in the flender means he feems to
make ufe of, appears to confer a double blefling on thofe {mall

parcels of good land called clofes and fields, which in other parts

are looked upon only as. little inclofures, and feparated {pots ;
yet he does not effect this in any fupernatural or immediate man-
ner. We know, that moifture and heat, are the two great pro-
moters of fertility, and the fields of Norway enjoy a fufficiency of
both +. They are not liable to fuch frequent and long droughts
as other countries, being fupplied either by rains or {prings, gently
iffuing from the mountains, or the meltings of the mafles of fnow
on the tops of the mountains. Befides, the {now-water, as well as
the fhow itfelf, is of a rich nature, fo as by fome to be thought a
kind of manure. And when the fields begin to be parched, which
is chiefly in the vallies, by the reflection of the fun, they are more
eafily refrefhed by watering than in other countries, as being few,
and of no great extent. In fome parts, particularly Guldbrandf-

* Mr. Lucas Debes, in his account of Ferroe, p. 196, fays, that a tun of corn-

feed often yields twenty or thirty tuns of corn, yet is this in the main but a fmall
matter, amidét fuch a fcarcity ofscorn-ground, and-where few can fow above a tun

or two.

+ << Tanta eft foli coelique foecunditas interrupes boreales, ut femina terre commiffa
multiplici foenore agricolas beent. In infulis Ferroenfibus, ex unico hordei erano,
quinquaginta culmi cum totidem fpicis excrefcunt, granis turgidi, paucitatem terrae
N. B. uberi proventu refarciente natura. Non fabulas narro. Ipfe culmos vidi et
manibus hic palpavi.”” And in another paflage foon after: ‘* Ratio fertilitatis bo-
realis ex nivibus repetenda terram impreegnantibus, et ex folis radiis, qui inter rupes
fortius agunt. Et quanquam rupibus fuperftrata terra profunda_ non fit, ea tamen
recipiendis fovendifque radicibus frumenti fufficit, quoniam, ut Theophraftus docet,
Lib. 1. de Cauf. Plant. c. xxii. plures quidem frumentum radices capeflit, fed non
alte defcendunt.” Th. Bartholin, At. Med. Hafn. Vol. 1, p. 66. : Fi

ale,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
dale the peafants, which according to.Tavernier, is alfo practifed

in Perfia, have contrived aqueducts from the upper grounds to
the lower, Thefe aqueducts are formed of hollowed timbers,

Lor

which are not very expenfive, and are carried on from the neareft ©

{pring to the fields out of thefe the water is thrown in fhovels
over the field, after the manner ufed at fea for wetting the fails,
that they may draw the better and hold more wind.

As to the other principal caufe of this fertility, I ‘gl in the firft Heat betwixt

the moun-

chapter on the climate, fhewn, that by the compreflion of the rays tans. -

of the fun, colle&ed betwixt the mountains, as betwixt the lofty
houfes in Copenhagen, the fun is extremely hot, or rather fo in-
tenfe, that without the fummer breezes daily blowing from the
fea along the creeks, whereby this heat is tempered, it would of
all things be the moft pernicious to the ploughed land. Hence
our harveit is as forward, as theirs in Denmark or Lower Saxony ;
though our feed-time be later; yet the nights being fhort, the
ground remains in a continual warmth, thus the growth of the
corn advances without any check or intermiffion, that within the
{pace of nine weeks the farmer has houfed his corn. For the

better clearing and confirming this poiut, I fhall fet down the —

words of a confummate Swedifh naturalift, the celebrated Linneus,
in his differtation on the natural planting of Vegetables. ‘ To-
wards the pole the fummers-are fhorter, and the days longer.
The fummer in France being longer than in Lapland, the fruits
ripen fooner in Lapland than in France. About Paris the cool
nights are longer, during which the growth being checked, they
require the longer time for their full maturity; whereas in Lap-
land, the fummer having little or no night, the fruits are in an
uninterrupted progrefs. In 1732, for inftance, corn was fown on
the 31ft of May, and in the barn by the 28th of July, having
attained its one nae in 58 days. In the fame year rye was
likewife fown on the 31ft of May, and cut the sth of Auguft,
ripening in 66 days; this happened in Lulaa Lapland, whereas
further fouth there was no fuch forwardnefs.”
SEO T. IL. 8; ,
Agriculture in Norway, is not fo burdenfom to the farmer as
_ in other parts; for here he does not toil in the fields of an oppref-
five

Tranfactions

- of the Swedifh

acad. of {ci-

ences, Vol, 1,
p. 22.

EO?

Plate virr.

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

five lord, but the fruits of his labour are his abfolute and certain

| property. But, on the other hand, it happens in many places to
_ be attended with great labor and inconvenience, the fields confift-
| ing of litle {pots of ground among the rocks, many of which 7

mutt be dug, inftead of being plowed, and particularly here, in the
diocefe of Beigen: where the foil is lefS fruitful, and affords but
few places, where the plow can be ufed, asit is in the eaftern pro—
vinces *, The harveft alfo is not without its difficulties; the grain, —
according to the old cuftom of the peafants, not being eed with

a {cythe, except about Chriftiania, where it is lately come into ufe,
but cut with a fickle; and this is their practice even in thofe few
places where the ground is level and clear of ftones; for the corn
often grows fo thick and clofe, and the ftalks are fo apt to bend
under the weight of the ears, that the reapers, both here and in

_ the marfh-lands, orafp the ftems with one hand, cutting them with

the other, and immediately bind them in fheaves, which never lie
fong on the ground; for, that they may be thoroughly aired and
dried, a great number of poles five or fix ells long are fet up in
the field, and fix or eight fheaves hung to each pole, fo that feve-
ral days rain, if it fhould fall, would foon be exhaled and dit
charged, and then the corn is houfed. In this part of the harveft-
work no waggons are ufed, except on the frontiers, where wag-
gons have been introduced, but inftead of them, the Norway
peafants ufe fledges, for they are prejudiced againft any other
vehicles, even in places where waggons might eafily travel, and
though their work would be performed with greater eafe and ex-
pedition. But in this and every thing elfe, they are fo fuperfti- _
tioufly tenacious of the ufages tranfmitted to them by their fore-
fathers, that they will not venture to remove a ftone, which their _
fathers had fuffered to lie. This ruftic bigotry, which, more or
lef, prevails every where, is a great obftruction to public utility,
counteracting all improvements in agriculture, the peafants here
being more inclined to fell timber to ferve in the fifheries, and
the like, than to clear and improve their lands. However, this
error gradually lofes ground, fince from the peaceable ftate of

* Th fome placés where the ground is véry ftony, a-crooked ftick’ with an iron at
the end _ is nate to’ ferve inftead of a.plow, as this yielding eafier to 9 the, ftones, is not
fo Beyer to break.
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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

affairs, an eftate is come to be divided into feveral parts, three or
_ four families now procure a comfortable fupport from a farm,

which before was a fubfiftence only for one *. This has encou-
raged a diligent enquiry after {pots of ground proper for fowing;

ftones begin to be removed, fens-and morafles are drained by

trenches, which are here called Veiter +, for carrying off the

water, and are ufed in the newly cultivated grounds in many

places, tranfverfally, underneath them, an ell or two deep in

the ground, where they are covered with earth, and lined with |

{tones. The peafants are likewife improved in their knowlege of
manures, and diligence in the ufe of them, fuch as fern and other
large weeds, heath or mofs, fea-grafs, and other fea vegetables,

likewife a kind of reddifh earth, all which hath in many places

Ahad the good effect of enriching the worft and moft unpromifing

lands. With refpect to this fignal increafe and advancement of

agriculture in this century, Mr. Peter Schroeder, fuperintendant

and minifter of Karmen, in the diocefe of Chriftianfand in a let-

ter to me, among other things, mentions the following particulars;
“¢ the advantages this country has received from the indefatigable |

application of the inhabitants, within thefe forty or fifty years, in
the improvement and augmentation of their arable lands, is be-
yond credit. Heretofore the farmer, who by his yearly tillage
could fupport his family till Chriftmas, was accounted a notable
man and in good circumftances, whereas now, in thofe years,

when God does not punifh the land with any remarkable {carci-

ty, the inhabitants throughout this diftri@, are, from their own
grounds, not only plentifully provided with malt, barley and oats,
throughout the whole year; but fend fome hundred tuns to mar-
ket to Bergen, Hardanger, and Stavanger, &c.” In another letter
this gentleman, who is well experienced in hufbandry, commu-
nicates to me, at my requeft, fome obfervations on the proper

application of the feveral kinds of manure to the quality of foils,

* Even in this Diocefe, where we have but little room for tillage, large farms are
parcelled out to feveral farmers, and from the number of houfes make the appear-
ance of no mean village; Oppedal, for inftance, an eftate in the parifh of Knitzerviig
in Hardanger, which in the land-tax is affeffed at 12 lobers of corn, that is 24 tuns;
pe cain 16 families, and thefe, according to the report of the minifter, confit of
130 fouls.

+ An experienced countryman, told me, that, by introducing thefe veiters in his
Jands, he had doubled their produce. eet nee

Parr I, | Ee | . which

103

104

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

which I likewife efteem worthy of public notice: “ Ifthe fitua-

tion of a fwampy field be fuch, that the cold moifture cannot be
carried of by veiters, the natural refource is the warm and dry

dung of horfes and fwine. Where the foil is dry and deep

enough, fheeps-dung is the manure for barley; as cow or ox

dung for oats; but if very hungry, fandy or hilly, for fuch there

is no better manure than the earth of molehills in the fwampy

countries, which at harvelt is collected for this purpofe. By this

diftribution of every kind of dung or manure, varied according

to the foil, all the plowed lands may in time be improved doubly,
and be brought nearly to an equal goodnets. |

SBC a). i

All kinds of grain are fown in Norway, though not every where

to equal advantage. In Hedemark, Jeddern, and in Nordland,
“rye thrives beft, but the very beft is the burnt rye, which is fown

where woods have been burned for that end, and the afhes left as
manure: ‘They likewife fow veerling or {pring-rye, and great quan-

‘tities of both are ufed in Sondenfield, fince the arrival there in 1624
of fome Rye-finlanders, as they were called; for thefe inftruéted

the peafants in this method of converting their woods to arable
ufes, and manuring the land with the afhes. However profitable
this may be, where the woods will bear fuch a confumption, yet
it is detrimental and prohibited in other parts. ‘The apparatus or
method of proceeding 1s as follows. A peafant having found out

a fpot, which will anfwer to the fowing of half, or a whole tun

of feed, he fells the wood, and leaves it on the ground two years,
till it be throughly dried. When he propofes to fet fire to it,
which is generally about midfummer, he waits till he obferves ©
clouds, which promife him rain, his fuccefs in this cafe, de-
pending thereon. Yet it frequently happens, that many are the
dupes of a weatherwile neighbour’s conjectures, for-one has no
foner fet fire to his wood, than another, relying on his judgment,
does the like, and fo on, that fometimes the flames and fmoak of —
thefe fires are feen at once throughout a whole country. The
wood being burned as much as poffible, the greater pieces quench-
ed, and the lefler, together with the furface of the foil, the mofs,

and {mall roots being reduced to afhes, without flaying till et
RY | | ear

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

earth be cooled, the feeds are thrown on the afhes, ftill fo hot
that they give a fmart crack, denoting that the hufks are {plit.
What remains is the expected rain to foak them ; and if this adtu-
ally happens, the peafant may fit down in the certain hope of fuch
-an exuberant rye-harveft, as will fcarce appear credible to fo-
reigners, tho’ upon enquiry it will be found an undoubted matter
of fact; for, without any extraordinary accident, a fingle buthel
of burnt rye, will produce fix, fometimes ten tun of the choiceft
tye*, This is certainly the effect of the concentration of the ve-
getative {pirit in the afhes, which, before it can evaporate, im-
pregnates the corn with fuch wonderful fecundity. And it.is on
this vegetative {pirit that the chemifts ground their regeneration

of burnt plants, tho’ in fuch an open place, a great part of them

muft certainly be diflipated by the intenfenefs of the heat. Thefe
conflagrations fometimes prove the occafion of dreadful mifchiefs,
as in the year 1739, at Oeyer in Guldbrandfdale, fome houfes
were burned, and feven perfons perifhed in them, proper notice
not having been given to the neighbourhood. ‘The knops of the
pines fhoot along the air like rockets, and have been known to
fet fire to houfes at a confiderable diftance. When the fire firtt
feizes the green wood, it is not only very violent, but’ attended
with a boifterous wind and dreadful roarings.

eS iFie Ce Lele

10%

Every part affords barley ; but the beft places for it are Nord- Barley.

land, the diocefe of Aggerhuus, the lordfhip of Nedenes in the ©

diocefe of Chriftianfand, and Sognefiord in that of Bergen, where
excellent malt is made of the common, and likewife of a parti-
cular kind, called David’s-barley, or Heaven’s-corn. This barley,
which in threfhing lofes its hufk, and very much refembles wheat,
the peafants term Thor-barley, poflibly from the opinion of the
ancients, who, in their chimerical ideas of the Heaven, or Wal-
halla of the idol Thor, where the Cup of Health went brifkly
round, imagined this corn to be fit for the banquets of the gods,

and heroes.. Dr. Lochfter, in his Differtation de Medicamentis

Norvegie, &c. extols the liquor made of it, both as palatable and

* A buthel, or in Danifh a‘tkiepp, is the eighth part of a tun, thus the produce
of one bufhel in feed is forty-eight, fixty-four, or even eighty.

whol-

106

Page 294.

Wonderful
changes.

Oats.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA4Y

Wholfom. Palmam, fays he, quoque reliquis preripit decog@um
hordei cceleftis, vulgo Himmelbyg grato tam fapore quam ef-
fectu fe commendans. Arn. Bernfen, in his book above quoted,
on the Fruitfulnefs of Denmark and Norway, pretends that fome-
times in wet years, the Norway barley degenerates into oats;
whilft others imagine, that good oats, efpecially in Hedemark,
improve into barley. But, without further proof, fuch anomalous:
metamorphofes appear to me fcarce credible*, and my opinion
is, that what firft gave rife to this notion, was an accidental
and unobferved mixture of a little barley with oats, or of oats
with barley, which in fome years, happened to thrive better than
the intended* grain, and this: unexpeéted increafe was miftaken
for a tranfmutation. :

Det Caleta Wale

Oats, are the grain of the moft general ufe in Norway, both
for the peafant’s bread, which is made of it, and in fome-places

for a kind of malt. It is alfo much larger, whiter, and mellower,:

than in other countries, and thrives in thofe lands, where, by rea-
fon of moifture or poverty, no other grain will anfwer. That oats
are no lefs nutritive than rye, may be judged not only from the
horfes, but the fingular ftrength and vigour of the N orway pea~
fants. But amidit the great benefits derived to our peafants from
good oats, in fome places, efpecially in Ryefylke, they complain
loudly of a kind of wild or {purious oats, which the French call |
folle avoine. Where once this takes root, it is extremely difficult
to be extirpated, over-running large tracts of land, deftroying the
good grain, and proving as mifchievous, as thofe complained of

in Virgil,

‘Tnfelix lolium, et fteriles dominantur avenz.

* This however is efpoufed by Mr. Frederic Hoffman in thefe words, “¢ Who has
ever perfpicuoufly demonftrated, by what means fome plants come to be transformed
into other Kinds, for inftance, wheat into tares, good oats into wild, a nutmeg in
Europe into a walnut, &c.” See his Rational Phyfical Theolog. Se&. xxvut. p. 96.
Whilft I am writing this, a worthy friend of mine affures me, that to fatisfy himfelf
in this doubt, he fowed a can of the fineft barley, without a fingle grain of oats
among it; yet, at the harveft, of two cans of barley, one and a half proved oats.
So I leave the matter without further difcuffion, © ao . |

mee coe titel —- ok ree SECT.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

SECT. VII.

109

White; grey, and green peas are fowed, tho’ not to any preat Peas.

quantity, both in Suden and Nordenfield, the {oil being loomy ;
but the beft are produced in the diftri@ of Sognefiord in this dio-
cefe, where they were introduced by a clergyman, about the mid-
dle of the laft century; and his experiment having recommended
itfelf to imitation, I fhall here infert a fhort account of it. Mr.
Jacob Kirfebom, minifter of Sognedal*, reading in Sim. Paul’s
Flora Danica, of an American {mall pea, under the name of Pifum
de gratia, one of which being fet in M. Klingenberg’s garden,
near Hamburg, had yielded 324, refolved to fend for fome, and
on trial found the fertility of his Norway-garden far fuperior to
that near Hamburg; it yielded him 610 peas for one +. Since
which time the peas of thofe parts have been very much in vogue
here.

Vetches, of which fuch quantities are fown in Denmark, as PLO- Veiches;

vender for horfes, Mr. Jonas Ramus claffes among the vege-
tables of Norway; whence I conclude that it muft be far up the

country where they grow, having, to the beft of my remembrance,
never feen any in thefe parts. In Valders they are faid to grow
fpontaneoufly, and fow themfelves, but in no great plenty.

SE CT... VII.

Wheat, and Buckwheat alfo grow here, but not in MAaNy whear,

places, tho’, it is not improbable, that upon trial, the growth of
_ it might be confiderably increafed. Mr. Hans Caften Atche, mi-
nifter of Leyerdal, in this diocefe, being a native of Lolland,

* There is likewife a parifh in the diocefe of Chriftianfand, which bears the name
of Sognedal, and which Iam apt to think was M. Kirfebom’s refidence, and con-
. fequently where he firft brought peas in vogue, as I do not meet with his name
among the clergy of this diocefe. |

+ Pifum minus, quod de gratia rocant, ex America ad Europzos tranflatum cen-
tuplum fruétum ferre fama eft. Atteftatur D. Simon Paulli, vir magne fame et
experientiz, Claff111. Quadripartit Botan. in viridario nobiliff’ Klingenbergii prope
‘Hamburgum, fuccreviffe pilum hoc de gratia trecentorum et vigenti quatuor pifo-
rum fertile. Quo exemplo invitatus Dom. Jacobus Joach. Kirfebom, paftor in Sog-
nedal Norvegie, ex Hollandia ifta pifa fibi afferri curans, recepit in Norvegia ex
fingulo pifo terre ibidem commiffo, 610 pifa, quemadmodum ad venerandum fuum
parentem fcripfit, d. 2Junii 1672, cum D. Joach. Paulli laudabili propofito patrie-
que inferviendi voluntate Indos Danicos Orient. Navi petiturus prope Hitteroé
Nory. vento contrario fubfifteret. Thom. Barthol. Acta Med. et Philof. Hafn.
vol. I. p. 66. :

Part I, F f which

108

Hops.

Flax and
hemp.

Grafs.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWHY.

which is celebrated for its wheat, procured fome from thence to

fow in his grounds, where he’tells me, it anfwered both in qua-
lity. and. quantity ‘to thé produce of Lolland. As to Buckwheat,
the fowing of it here, appears too hazardous, both from the short-
nefs of the fummers and the night-frofts, particularly towards the
eaft, which this wheat cannot ftand, being of Oriental origin, in

_refpect of the fouthern countries, and as -fuch, is by the French

called Ble Sarazin. However, fome very good of this kind has
been produced in Hedemark, and even in this diocefe.

S.E CT. IX.

Both the north and fouth parts have hop-gardens, but the beft
are thofe of Hedemark and Solloer. I have alfo feen very good at
Sundmoer. Flax and hemp likewife grow here, but in a very
{mall proportion to the demand for them. The weft fide, parti-
cularly, affords little or none ; tho’ here it would be well worth
while to encourage the fowing hemp, on account of the great
quantities ufed in making fifhing-nets. i

CE OT xX

From the corn-land, I proceed to the pafturages or meadows,

with which Norway is fo liberally bleft, as not only to equal

other countries, but to furpafs‘many.- A proof of this is, that in
moft of the provinces no flefh, butter, cheéefe, &c. is imported,
except fome bacon from Denmark, the good lands being too va-

luable to turn fwine into them; whereas, every year from feveral

parts, and chiefly Bergen, there is a very confiderable foreign ex-
portation of thofe commodities, efpecially fuet and butter. The
beft and moft nutritive pafturages are in Lofoden, Vefteral, Vas,
Valders, Hallingdal, Tellemark, and the lordfhip of Nedenes.
The Norway-cows are not indeed of the fize of thofe in Den-
mark, and a confequence of this is, that they alfo yield lefs milk ;
but as to their fatnefs, thofe of the marfh-lands excepted, Den-
mark does not afford: better; and accordingly the farmers here keep
a greater number of cows. - The beft. dainties among the Norway
peafants confift in milk-meats, and variety of cheefes, on which |

they

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

they {pread butter as on bread ; befides which, they regale them-
felves with Draule, Myflebrum, Gummegreed, and other white
mefles. | a.

How well the N orway grafs agrees with the fheep, appears
from Mr. Berndfen’s book of the fruitfulnefs of Denmark and
Norway, where he fays, that it is no uncommon thing for twenty-
four or thirty-two pounds of fuet to be found in one ram; and
it is a ftriking inftance of the fucculency and increafe God has been
pleafed to beftow on the Norway grafs, that a very {mall valley,
or dale, fuffices for the fupport of feveral families, and their cattle;
Davigen in Nordfiord, for inftance, is not above half a Norway
mile in circumference, yet as Mr. George Krog the minifter there
affirmed to me, it feeds very near two hundred people, and
twelve hundred cattle of different kinds. - |

It is however to be obferved, that in the {pring the cattle do
not graze in the vallies and on the fkirts of the mountains after
Whitfuntide ; for when the feed time is over, and the people can
be fpared, they are driven on the fides of the mountains to Sacters,
or to Stols, as the country phrafe is, which at that feafon afford
them fufficient fodder, the fnow being no fooner melted than the
grafs appears, at leaft a quarter of an ell high, grown under the
mafies of fnow, from which it derived both warmth and moifture.
When the diftance is within a Norway mile, the milk is brought
home twice a day; but if the diftance be two or three miles
to thofe pafturesy they keep Seterboe or huts on the moun-
tains, where a maid-fervant, diftinguifhed by the name of Buedye,
conitantly lives, for the fecurity of the cattle againft wolves, bears,
lynxes, and other wild beafts, who generally fly from fuch a weak
keeper. She is at the fame time employed in making butter and
cheefe, with which fhe goes down to the houfe once or twice a
week. Regulations againft difputes and quarrels with neighbours
or borderers, concerning this general right of common on the
mountains, are laid down in the Norway Statute-book +.

+ According to Dr. Shaw, both the milk and fleth of the-eaftern cattle, fed on
the mountains are the beft; befides, that thus the whole country is turned to ufe,.

another confiderable benefit is, that the milk of cattle thus fed is much-fatter and.

fweeter, as the fleth is likewife more palatable and nutritive. Travels to the Levant,
Tom. II. chap. iii. p. 62. Taf | | 1]

I , ' The

rog

110

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

The grafs in the vallies, or near the houfes, is cut for hay, and
though in moft places it be mowed with a {cythe, yet in fome,
like the grain, it is reaped with a fickle; after which it is hung to
dry on hefgiers. ‘Thefe hefgiers are a moveable garden, confift-
ing only of poles faftened together, both in the length and breadth,

by birch twigs, where the hay dries much better, and the rain

evaporates fooner, than when left to lye on the ground *, The
peafant dungs his meadows as well as fields, though the former
but flightly. When the mofs is grown fo high, as to obftrué the
growth of the grafs, whereby very great damages are done in
many places, the experienced hufbandman is not without a re-
medy, either plowing up the meadow to deftroy the mofs, or
{lrewing it over thick with fand, if any can be had in the neigh=
bourhood. But according to the before-mentioned Mr. Peter
Schroder, who is a very experienced hufbandman, nothing is more
certain and efte@tual for this purpofe, than turf-afhes, where turf
is burnt, or in a woody country to burn turf merely for the fake
of the afhes, and lay them on thick over the meadows, which are
thus damaged by the luxuriancy of the mofs. For the firft year
indeed this method makes no great alteration, but in the follow-
ing it is recommended by the moft happy effects, producing the
fineft and melloweft grafs, intermixed with many falubrious flow-
ers, The feveral kinds of greens growing here befides the com-
mon fort, are holly, quick, wild tanfy, rufhes, fedge, goofe-oats,
bienfen, (rufhes) fheer-grafs, iglegras, ftoergras, (large grafg) or
tourgras, of which fome particulars {hall be obferved in the fequel,

I am not acquainted with the kind of grafs or plant with thort
broad leaves, to which fome here give the name of Viola Canina,
but by it, and fome leaves of forrel, the lives of two brothers were
wonderfully fupported for feveral days. The fingularity of this
ftory is fuch, that I cannot forbear inferting here a fhort abftra@
of it, for however it may appear a digreflion, yet it is not very
unufual, in an account of the feveral plants of a country, and it is
befides an interefting fact, as it furnifhes more than one inftance
of the care of providence over perfons in the extremity of diftrefs,
It may be read more at large in Oluf Bangs collections, p. 508. _

* I have fince been informed, that thefe Heefgier are ufed only in the diocefe of
Bergen, they not being fo neceffary in other parts, where the rains are not fo frequent.

Olafe

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. "saa

-Olave and Andrew Engelbrechtfen, born in the farm-houfe of A remark
Toxen, in the parifh of Guldfdal in Gulbrandfdal, brothers and “”~ na
ftudents, fet out on the firft of Auguft, 1652, from the faid houfe of
Toxen, to take the diverfion of {hooting and fifhing for a few days,
in the high mountains, which feparate Guldbranfdal from the province
of Valders. On the fecond of Auguft, after proceeding about four
Norway miles, they came to a large water called the lake of Ret,
where they flayed four days. On the fixth of Auguft they were for
returning home, but firft rowed away to a very {mall ifland in that
lake, being but fixteen paces long and half as broad, to draw up a
net which they had fpread there. Whilft they were on this ifland,
by a fudden ftorm at eaft, their fkiff broke loofe, and was carried
over to the other fhore; by this accident, as neither of them could
{wim, they faw themfelves in extreme danger of perifhing with
hunger. After having fafted the firft day, they were for the
{pace of twelve days, deftitute of any kind of fubfiftence, except
only the wild vegetable, which introduced, this ftory,,.the Viola:
Canina and forrel. Befides hunger, they had alfo fevere winds and:
colds to ftruggle with, efpecially in the night, and being but
_ thinly cloathed, as their travelling neceflaries were on the banks of
the lake, they muft foon have perifhed with cold, had not the.
invention of one of them fuggefted to build a little hut of ftones,
where they might in fome meafure be fheltered from the weather.
Their next care was to fearch, if this little {pot did not afford fome
fucculent vegetables, their appetite now beginning to grow keen
towards the end of the fecond day; but their firft fearches were
fruitlefs, at laft they alighted upon a kind of broad leaved grafs,
without doubt Viola Canina, of which, twice a-day, each ate
about an ounce, that being all they could find at one time, and
as in this extremity they frequently implored the affiftance of
heaven, fo their flender repafts were conftantly attended with a
prayer. They tried alfo the leaves of fome buthes but found
them too bitter. After thus devoutly eating their pittances of
that grafs, their fpirits and ftomachs were refrefhed, and the
acute pains they felt in their arms and fhoulders abated. But the
moft' remarkable circumftance in this fuftenance was the happy
proportion in which it was dealt out to-them, and the fudden re-
production of it; for, according to their own account, which they

Part I. Seat Gg them

Ir2

NATURAL HISTORY of NORLAY.
themfelves! publifhed, from a principle: of otatittide to God, ‘and

confequently cannot be fuppoled to have adulterated it witha — |

deliberate falfhood, they daily found no more ‘than the above-
mentioned very {mall portion; “on ‘the following day, their feareh
was duly anfwered, though they had. but! the day. ‘before torn’ up
all the other grafs, and the mofs itfelf, to form a kind of a bolfter;’

‘in their ftore-hut, and towards the period of their mifery; they

met with more than at firft, but on’ the twelfth day, when their
deliverance was at hand, this efculent ‘entirely failed them,’ {6 that
not a blade of.it was to be feen. But on that day they met with
fomething, which had hitherto efcaped their eyes, tho’ their fearch*
was confined’to fo tiarrow limits. “This was-a little fpot, all’ overs!
srown with forrel, which they cleared, and fed on: it witha dew
vout cheerfulnefs; yet, when in the evening Andrew Engelbrecht-’
fen crept thither, being unable to walk, he found it freth grown.
It may be furmifed; that this was another {pot which had not been’
touched, but to obviaterthis, ‘he fays, that they had taken exaé& no»
tice of the’place,' having obferved a piece of wood lying near it. In
the mean time, thefe diftrefied young men, did not give up alli hopes
of being delivered by: fomeperfons who might srefort,»as many?
did, to thefe defart mountains for the diverfions, which had drawn
them thither. The inftrument which providence made ule of
for their~ prefervation was their-dog, who.after continuing eight
days with their little baggage on the fhore,»had returned: home
howling and moaning: Frommthe grief of. this faithfub creature it!
was concluded they had met with fome misfortune, and a man’
was immediately difpatched to the mountain in fearch of them;
coming thither on the eleventh day, he could get/ng) fighthof
them, but found their clothes; &c. and: from: feveral umarks, he.
conjectured. they ‘had not been there for a confiderable time, upon
which he immediately returned with the melancholy; news, that!
they were probably drowned. On the twelfth day; being thea 7th,
of Auguit, Olave Engélbrechtfen, appearing to be at the laft gafpy
his heart throbbing with a violencé fo as to be heard, they funk
into defpait, and Andrew, the younger, with what) remains of
ftrength he had, cut out on fome pieces of timber which were moft,
in fight, a concife relation of their unhappy fate; andthe text,
upon solnicle he chofe their funeral fermon fhould be preached,

Pfalm

qr

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY: n143

Pfalmolxsiii.iweri 22.:and 26.:01After.this:; they mutually encout .
raged seach. othér inthe, hope:ob eternal felicity, to patience, !and
perfeverante ainiy faiths, jointly teeommending: themfelves toi God,
and.-totally» dafpaiviay of all-tempofal ‘relief, | fince the above-men-
tiontd herb Riad: failed thelih. -Butamthe night: betweem the twelfth
and . thirteenth: day of ; their famine, . -being. the » eighteenth day \ of
Auguts: theii,lichrts were revived, by the found ot horfes galloping
uip-the;mountaihs; upod, which! they éalled. out, and being heard;
the riders fleyy to their, iaffiftance, {and ‘putting lof yim their boat,
which,, as another inftarice of God’s. paternal, care, had. received
no damage, brought them-afhore. , Food, being offered: to then,
the elder. brother could_.cat, yery- little: of, it, and! the\littlethe did
eat, threw him into fuch.a diforder, ‘as after his return’ homie con
fined him eight days to his bed; however, he furvived it. thirty
feven years. The younger keris found himfelf Jefs', incom
moded, -and, in the. year, 1691,/drew. up this, relation;) patticularly
thanking God. that.their dog; - the. fubordinate means, of ‘their
deliverance, had not fam over to them when. they calledy:and
made all the. figns,imaginable, with .a view of killing. him:ot
their fuftenance.).. I, beg: pardon. for this. digreffion, and, en the
| auth neh be fac upon, the, guthertys of the party haniel

a ehenet | xr

, ‘sae sia pes 4 grain, si ‘arals,. a chief iia i patanaed
fen and other animals; _ the culinary and garden. vegetables are parish vege:
the next in order for our confideration. “The common people | |

here, and efpecially in the country, have very little tafte for thefe,

and even the towns and cities ufed to be fupplied from England

and. Holland with cabbage, leeks, and other roots. But in this
century, efpecially within thefe forty years, a foreign fupply is be-

come lefs neceflary, as gardening grows more into vogue, for

which the country is partly ‘indebted, to a very ufeful little piece,
intitled, The Norway Horticultute, publifhed at Drontheim, by
Chriftian Gartner; and a happy experience has fhewn, that all

kinds of efculent vegetables thrive in our gardens; they produce
cabbage. of all kinds and colours, green, white, or red, likewife

green peas, common and french beans, alparagus, artichoaks,

an i cucumbers, garlic, parfley, fellary, marjoram, thyme,

fage,

“114

NATURAL HISTOR YoolWORW4Y

fage, penny-royal, purflain, ‘forrel} ‘lettice; ) {pinnage, endive,
crefles, charvil, dill, fennel, and cummin, the laft ‘growing wild, |
efpecially. in Nordenfield ; accordingly it has no:place in gardens,

_ increafing fpontaneoufly to fuch quantities, that from Chriftiania,

it is exported abroad. Our ° gardens likewife furnith us with all

kinds of roots, as yellow, red, and common carrots, parfnips,

tadifhes, potatoes, together with a particular kind of northern
turnips called Naper, which the peafants endeavour'to taife
more than any other, and fell by'tuns in the ‘cities, Thefe ate
fometimes very large, and as flat as a difh. A matt’ of veracity.
has affured me, that not many years fince, he had in his: garden
one of thefe Napers, weighing. twenty-feven pounds. They
keep beft in ‘the little hillocks to be met with among the

_ fwamps, where they continue ‘entirely frefh, even fo late as

{pring time. sags HOH pi hiieniah Selendis

In order to forward the growth of certain vegetables, where
the fummers are fhort, the example of burgo-mafter Jurgens of
Drontheim, is recommended ‘to imitation in the above-mentioned
Horti Cultura, p23 This gentleman, at harveft time, fet in his
garden at his feat of Harli, feveral plants, which might be fown
early in the {pring, but which being’ covered by the fhow during
winter, were alive, and very forward in fpring. But this method,
however advifeable in the inland parts of the country, will not

hold good in the maritime parts, for want of fuch lafting {nows,
the winters here being rather wet than cold. | .

EREVEL ONES
RIE

2 | CHAP.

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. ae

CHAP. V.
Account of the Vegetables continued,

SECT. i ebeheiges and as plants and flowers. Sucr. Vl. Noxious herbs.
Sect. IL. Wholfom and palatable berries: Suct. IV. Of the Norway woods
in general. Suct.V. a4 Carta of deg trees. SEct. VI, Mofs upon
the trees and ftones:

SE LOE. souks

NROM the common efculent vegetables, I come to treat. of ey Bee
feveral other kinds of plants and flowers, which Norway plants.

athe fome falubrious, others agreeable to the fight or {mell;
fome planted in gardens, others growing wild; and I fhall gather
my informations either from books, efpecially that of the accurate
Mr. Ramus, or from the epiltolary correfpondence I enjoy, with
perfons of parts and candor. Among the written helps, I muft
acknowledge the preference due to an Herbarium Vivum, written

by Mr. Godfrey Henry Langen,: who, for. various purpofes, but
particularly to acquire a knowledge of the Norway plants, , hath
vifited feveral provinces, making fome ftay in Nordland, an hun-
dred Norway miles beyond Bergen *. From thefe authorities, I
have fet down the following, with satatks where I thought them
proper and requifite,, omitting remarks upon thofe plants that. are
common and generally known. ‘

AbGnthium maritimum (likewife pratenfe.) siete sre oa)

Acetofa major, minor, fontana. Sorrel.

~ Acetofella. Petty-forrel, fheep-forrel.

Aconitum magnum. Wolfsbane.. —

Adiantum aureum. Golden maidenhair.

Agrimonia. Agrimony, liver-wort. )

_ Alchimilla { pes leonis, item minor mathioli, foliis divifis et
aa albicantibus. Ladies mantle; Pa-de-lion. —

Allium montanum: latifol. Sylveftre, tenuifolium. Broad-
feaved mountain-garlick. This, in fome places, is fo intermixed
with the grafs, that it gives a difagreeable tafte to the milk, as if

* This Herbarium Vivum, is the more valuable for the lively frefhnefs of the co-

fours of the feveral plants and flowers, beyond any thing of the kind I ever faw;, but
whether this be the effect of the air, or of the plants themfelves, I cannot determine.

Parr I, Hh garlick

£LG

NATURAL HISTORY of VORHAY
garlick had been boiled in it. eh {pecies of garlick, has fome

appearance of may-flowers, and is accounted a better medicine —
for the feurvy, than even {curvy-grafs.

Alfine vulgaris, longifol. nemorum hirfuta, folio seat.
rotundo et crenato, facie {pergule. Chickweeds.

Althea. Marfhmallows. .

Alyffon Germanorum. Madwort.

Anagallis aquatica. Brook-lime.

Angelica vera officinarum, feu Archangelica, grows here and
there in the vallies, but delights chiefly in the mountains, where
it is as plentiful as in Gricentene The highland peafant, not
only chews it in a morning dried, but likewife makes a {nuff of
it. ‘The bears likewife are very fond of the ftem till it oTOWs

tough and faplefs.

Anferina, Argentina, likewife called Potentilla, from its ano-
dyne and vulnerary property. Wild tanfey.

Anonis non fpinofa, flore purpurafcente. Reftharrow.

Anthillis leguminofa. Kidney-vetch, or lady’s-finger. |

Antirrhinum angufti fol. cerul: item flore luteo. Snap-dragon,
or calves-{nout. |
_ Aparine et gallium album. Cleavers, and white ladies-bed-
fhaw. a |

Apios Hieron. Bock. Earth-nuts.

Apium paluftre, et Sylveftre. Smallage.

Aquileja flor. cerul. fimpl. Columbines.

Arnica Zogea lupi: Motherwort. It is in great ufe among the
Norway peafants, againft pains in the back or limbs, a decoétion
of it in ftale beer operating by perfpiration.

Artemifia vulgar. it. tenuifol. Mugwort, or white-wort.

- Afperula odorifera. —Woodroof.

Afphodelus paluftr. luteus. Kingfpear.

Aftragalus flore flavo, radice bulbofa. Silk-vetch, or wild
tares.

Aftrantia Sylveftris, aquatica, fol. anguftis, parum_hirfutis.
Black mafterwort.

Atriplex major, minor, maritima, fol, feutato, feetida. White
and ftinking Orache.

Auricula muris. Moufe-ear.

Barba

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

_ Barba caprina, 8. Tragopogon, fl. luteo. Goats-beard.
Bardana. Burdock. |

-_ Bellis major, Buphtalmos. Ox-eye:
Betonica. -Betony:
Bifolium, latifol. fine tefticulis ef palmis. Tway-blade:
Biftorta minima. Small-biftort, or fnake-weed,
Bonus Henricus. Englifh Mercury.
Branca urfina, Branckurfine. Bears-breech:

- Braflica Sylveftris, S$. Lampfana fol. integr. et laciniatis. Nipple=
wort. |
Bryonia. Bryony, Hedge-plant.
- Bugloffa vulgar. it. maritima: Buglofs, or ox-tongue: This

_ plant grows along the fhore in Northland, fo as to be often over-

flowed, and thereby contraéts a faline tafte. Its leaves and ftem
nearly refembles purflain, and it runs along the ground toa oreat
diftance. Mr. Lange does not mention his having feen it any
where elfe. It is a good vulnerary, and correéts the motion of
the blood. |

Burfa Paftoris. Shepherds-purfe. Experience fhews it to be
an excellent medicine for attenuating the blood, and abating a
fever. | | aes f

Calamus aromaticus. | |

Caltha paluftris. Marfh-marygold. The Norway peafants,
judge by the appearance of this flower, when to turn their cattle
to graze.

Campanula major et minor cerul. Hedge-bells.

Caprifolium. Honeyfuckle, woodbind. See Periclymenum.

Carduus aculeat. et non, caule angulari et f{pinofo, it. folio
levi lactefcente, it. maritimus, it. pratenfis flore purpureo et al-
bicante.. Thiftles of different {pecies, fome of which bear corn,
which in a time of dearth, may be grinded and baked inftead of
bread; and thus the curfe, thorns and thifiles foall it bring forth to

| thee, is amongftt us converted into a bleffing. When the thiftle-

tops are full, the peafant depends upon a ‘good harveft:
Cariophyllata, flore’ nutante, it. lore luteo, radice odorata.
The herb avens, likewife called the herb of St. Benedid.
Cariophyllus marinus. Sea-oilliflower.
3 Cauda

1147

4r8

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Cauda muris. Moufe-tail.
Chamemelum vulgare. Camomile.
Chamebalanus. Pignuts. } pier ae
Chelidonium majus flore luteo et min. f. rotundo. Celandine, —
or fwallow-wort. |
- Cherefolium. Chervil.

Chryfanthemum fegetum. Corn-marygold.

Cicuta. Hemlock.

Cicutaria. Baftard-hemlock.

Cochlearia. Scurvy-grafs. This grows every where in Norway in
ereat plenty, and of feveral kinds, as, repens et furgens, ramofa,
punétata, et nen pundiata, it. folio crenato et incifo, particularly
the Cochlearia maritima, which grows along the fhore, and from
the ebb and flood undergoes an alteration, being alternately wet
and dry. Its leaves are fmall, round, and thickifh, and are juftly
efteemed the fovereign anti-fcorbutic ; and the further north it
goes, the ereater its value; in the {pring the leaves are very
{mall, but fowing itfelf again in the fummer, its leaves towards
winter are large and juicy. - .

» Gonfolida major. Black-root, or comfrey. This, in fome
ieee erows wild. |

Confolida aurea. Another enna herb, ufed for voile. |
ing wounds. |

Convolvulus major et minor. Great rm fmall bin-weed.

Conyza major. Greater flea-bane.

Coriander. Coriander. 7

Coronopus maritimus, Sea-plantain. |

Cotula feetida et non feet. Sweet and feetid wild-camomile,

Crifta galli. Cock{fcomb, |

Chriftophoriana, fol. Ranunc, Crowfoot-leaved, herb
Chriftopher. |

Crocus . Saffron.

Cufcuta. Dodder.

Cyanus. Bluebottle. .

Cynogloffa flor. cerul. et purp. healed |

Cupreffus fylveftris. Wild-cyprefs.

Dens leonis. Dandelion. .
3 aoe Digitalis

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

Digitalis Hore albo et varios Foxglove.

‘Doronicum. Leopard s-bane. T

‘Dulcamara. S. amara dulcis S. folanum f{candens. _ Bitter-
{weet..

Echins face Bueloffe it. fcorpioides majus et minus, flore
cerul. pepe nusen and greater and leffer moufe-ear. Scor-
~ pion- -prals.

Eguifetum ramofum et non. Horfetail.

Erifymum. Hedge-muftard.

Eruca fylveftris flore luteo. Wild-rocket.

- Efula vulgaris et major. Great-{purge.

Eupatorium canabinum. Hemp, agrimony.

Euphratia. Eyebright.

Filix mas et feemina, mollis, cornuta. Several kinds of Fain.
- Filicula aperta, ramofa, florida. Ofmund-royal, and other Ferns.
Filipendula. Dropwort.
Flos Africanus. African marygolds.
Flos Trinitatis. Harts-eafe. pal ®
Fenum Grecum fylveftre flor. luteo, Wild-fenugreck.
-Feniculum. Fennel. :
Fritillaria variegata. Frritillary.
Fumaria latifolia. . Fumitory.
Galeopfis major et minor. Hedge-nettle.
Gallitrichum Sylveftre. Wild Clary.
Gallium flore albo. White Ladies-bedfhaw.
_ Gentiana. Gentian, grows in great. quantities; is fuch a
bitter, that when eat by the cattle, with whom it is a favourite
root, it communicates its tafte to the milk, but withal makes it
particularly wholefom.
Gentianella. Baftard-gentian.
Geranium gruinum, caule rubic. it. fylveftre fufcum, it. flore
cerul. Several kinds of Cranefbill.
Glyzyrrhiza filiquofa, Liquorifh. An infufion of it in heaclly
is ufed as a cordial among the peafants.
Gnaphalium flore vario. Lions-foot, or fea- eiedueed.
Gramina diverfa. Many kinds of grafles.
Hedera terreftris. Ground-ivy.
Helleborus niger. . Black-hellebore, bears-foot, fetterwort.
Parr I, Ti Hepatica

11g

[20-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWaAY.

Hepatica nobilis. N oble liverwort.
Herba Paris quadrifol. _ Herb true-love. |
Herba flammula jovis. Spearwort. A peftilential herb, perni-

_ . clous to the cattle in thofe parts, where it grows plentifully, par-

ticularly occafioning tumors in their mouths.

‘Herba mercurialis. Mercury, or dogs-cole.

Herba trientalis fl. albo. White triental.

Herniaria. Rupture-wort.

Hieracium facie dent. leon. it. hirfutum,. laciniatum, minus
ramofum, {pinofum, alpinum. Hawk-weed. |

Hirundinaria. Swallow-wort.

Fiifpidita, fi pes cati. Several kinds of cats-foot,

Hyacinthus racemofus juncifol. Hair-bells.

Hyofchiamus albus et niger. Hen-bane.

Hypericon vulgare, it. minus ramofum. St. John’s-wort, . Ie
is adminiftred here both inwardly and outwardly, in many cafes.
and with very good fuccefs.

Hyffopus. Hyflop.

Jacea nigra, fol. purpureo. Knap-weed, or mat-fellon.

Impatiens fi noli me tangere. Touch me not.

Imperatoria. .. Mafter-wort. | |
Tris paluftris fl. ccerul et luteo. Bulbofa, gladialis, Flag-flower.

Juncus varii generis. Several kinds of Ruthes.

Lagopus. Hares-foot. _
Lamium purp. et alb. Dead-nettles.
Lapathum, acetofum, it. aquaticum minus. Red and white

- Sorrel, and water-dock.

Lappa perfonata. Great-burdock. |

Lavendula. Lavender. ' .

Laureola, fol. deciduo, baccis atrovirentibus. Surge-laurel.

Lens paluftris. Duckweed.

Lilium convallium, it. minus, f bifol. Lilies of the vallies ;
thefe flowers are fucceded by a {pecies of berries, ripening about
harveft, in colour and figure like fmall cherries, of a grateful bit~
ter, an infufion of them in brandy is by fome accounted very

wholfom. -

Linaria fl. luteo. ‘Toad-flax.
Litho

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Lithofpermum vulgare. Grummell or graymill. |
Lolium. Darnel, and from its caufing vertigos called in Nor-
~ way Svimling. | |
- Lunaria vulgar, et racemofa. Moonwort.

Lupinus fl. albo, cerul. luteo. Blue and yellow Lupines,

Lupulus fylveftris. Wild hops. ,

Lychnis latifol. glabris, fol. purpur. it fol. hirfutis, fl. albo, et
purpureo, it. vilcofa flor. purp. it parva faxatilis Al. candido it.
minima fl. albo. Campions of feveral kinds.

Lycopodium, ofhcinar. Wolfs claw-mof.

Lyfimachia lutea {picata, it. vario flore, fpicata, galericulata,
Yellow and hooded willow herb.

Malva. hortens. fl. luteo. fylveftr. crifpa. Yellow and other

Mallows. 2

Marrubium nigrum. Black hoar-hound.

Matricaria. Fever-few.

Melilotus vera. Méelilot.

Melifia turcica. ‘Turkey-balm.

Mentha arvenfis hirfuta. Field-mint; crifpa, curled-mint ;
aquatica, water-mint. - yt | | | )

Millefolium. Yarrow, milfoil. | :
Morfus diaboli, f. fuccifa foliis glabris, it. fol. parum hirfutis,
Devils-bit ufed here for dying yarn green.

Morfus galline. Chick-weed. :

Myrica. ‘Tamarifk; this herb though known to be extremely
heady is made ufe of in brewing by fome peafants, and fupplies
the place of hops in their liquor. | |

Narciffus. Daffodil.

Nafturtium, varii generis, agrarium, aquaticum, pratenfe, mi-
nus fcutatum, pumilum. Creffes of feveral kinds. [

Nigella. Fennel-flower.

Nummularia fylveftris repens. fl. albo. Money-wort. ‘To this
tribe probably may belong a N orway-herb, the name whereof I
never could learn, but it deferves notice, a tea being made of it,
which is a noble pectoral; its leaves are nearly orbicular, withia
very {mall incifion, at the fore part, being but half as big as a
Danith fhilling, and growing by pairs on a long, thin, round
and hairy ftalk, its flowers are little campanulz, or bells of five
leaves, white on the outfide, but their infide beautifully variegated
| with

fai

122

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

with red fpots. ‘The before-mentioned Mr. Lange, a perfon of
univerfal experience and curiofity in botany, affirms, that he never
met with it out of Norway, and recommends it for pectoral
diforders.

Nymphea alba, lutea, it. fl. unifol. White and yellow water-
lily, its root is ufed in many cafes.

Ocymaftrum, flore albo et purpureo. Wormegrals. :

Omnifolium. | Leaf-wort. :

Ononis fpinofa et non. Reftharrow, prickly, and not vriciy.

Ophiogloflum. Adders-tongue. |

Orchis latifolia, flore albo, binis et uno tefte, it. tenui fol. fl.
albo. Several kinds of fatyrion.

Origanum. Wild marjoram.

Oxytriphyllon. Sheep-forrel.

Pzonia nobil. Male pioney. ©

Papaver, erratic. et hortens. Wild and garden poppey.

Parietaria- Pellitory of the wall.

Paftinaca fylveftris, latifol. et tenuifol. Wild parfnip.

-Pedicularis. Red rattle. outs

Pentaphyllum petreum, paluftre, repens. Cinqfoil, or five-
fingers, feveral kinds. | ei

Periclymenum parvum. Little Woodbine, called in Norway
devils-berries, the eating of them being pernicious, on which
account, I have omitted them in the different {pecies of berries,
which I thall fpeak of in the fequel *. |

Perfoliatum. ~Thorough-wax. |

Perficaria maculofa et non, it. aquatica. Arfmart feveral kinds.

Phu vulgare. Common valerian.

Pilofella repens. Common moufe-ear. |

Pimpinella faxifraga, fol. rotundo, it. prof. incifo. Pimpernel.

faxifrage.

Pinguicula. Butter-wort. |

Piper aquaticum. Water-pepper. So the ingenious Mr. Lange
-1 his herbarium vivum, calls this vegetable, faying at the fame
time, that he never met with it any where but.on the fea-coafts

* John Chriftopher Buxbome makes this vegetable originally a native of Norway,
+1 a little memoir concerning it, which is to be found in the Commentar. Academ.
Petropol. Tom. 3. p. 268. with this title, De Periclimeno humili Norvegico. Simon
Paulli in his Flora Danica, p. 37. mentions it under the name of Caprifolium, Wood-
bine; annexing a good advice to thofe who are for making a medical ufe of it.

2 . mM

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

in Norway, and that he gave it this appellation on account of the
tafte of its leaves, which are of a middling length and breadth,
rounding towards the end, with {mall carnation flowers with feeds
in the calyx like the femen pfyll.

Plantago major, caule {picato et capitato, minor latifol. it.
longifol. it. hirfuta, it. aquatica. Several kinds of plantaine.

Polium montanum. Mountain-poley.

Polygala fl. ceruleo. Milk-wort.

Pélygonatum latifol. it. anguftifol. Narrow, and. broad- ssi
Solomon’s-feal.

Polygonum. Knot-grafs.

Polypodium. Polypody, wall-fern.

Potamogeiton. Pondweed.

Primula veris fl. ceruleo. Blue Primrofes. Poffibly Natway | Is
the only country which produces them of this colour.
' Ptarmica hortenfis. Sneefe-wort. |

Pulmonaria. _ Lung-wort.

Pyrola fpicata florida et minor uniflora. Two kinds of winter-
green.

Radix rofea. Rofe-root: However rte BE in ree parts, here
it grows {pontaneoully, and befides its fragrancy and fightlinefs,

is highly ferviceable in the {curvy, though this PEopSHY of it be

little known.

Ranunculus, varii generis, vulgar. et dulc. fl. luteo, it. fl. glo-
bofo, it. paluftris, it. vernus, feu anemone fl. albo ampliff. it.
aquatic. fl. albo. Several kinds of Crowfoot.

Rapiftrum agrefte. _ Charlock. :

Rapunculus vulgar. Rampions.

‘Regina prati f, ulmaria. Meadow-fweet.

Refeda marina lutea. Yellow Bafe-rocket.

Rhamnus folutivus. Buck-thorne.

Ros folis, rofa folis.

Ruta hortenfis. Garden-rue.

Sabina fylveftris. Savin; ufed by the peafants as a ie

» Salvia fylveftris et hortenf. Sage.
Sanicula alpina. Sanicle,
Saponaria maj. et min. The greater and lefler Soap-wort.

Satyrium latifol. Hor. purpur, et tenuifol. it. maculat. T Three

- kinds of orchis.

Part I, a i ie Ea iti Saxi-

123

124

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Saxifraga aurea. Golden faxifrage.

Scabiofa hortenf. et vulg. Scabious, an herb applied to fores
and impofthumes. 3

Scorzonera. Vipers-gralfs.

Scrophularia. Fig-wort.

Sedum majus, it. vermiculare fl. lut. et albo. Great and little
Houfe-leake.

Sempervivum. — Wall-pepper.

Senecio, f. erigeron. Ground-fell.

Serpillum. Mother of thyme.

Sideritis heraclea. Iron-—wort.

Sigillum folomonis. Solomons-feal.

Sinapi agrefte. Wild muftard.

Sifymbrium aquat. Water-crefles.

Sonchus afper laciniat. fl. lut. it. levis lactefcens, it. latifol. fl.
cerul. Three kinds of Sow-thiftle.

Sophia chirurgorum. Flix-weed, a vulnerary herb.

Spina crifpa. The barberry-buth. |

Spinachia. Spinnage.

Stechas. Silver-knap-weed.

Tabacum. Tobacco. In the diocefe of Aggerhuus endeavours
have been ufed for the cultivation of it.

Tanacetum album. White Tanzy. It. Rie fl. luteo. Com-
mon yellow T any.

- ‘Taraxacum minus. Leffer daaideae:

Telephium f craffula. - Orpine.

Teucrium pratenfe, it. minus. Wild-germander.

Thalictrum. Meadow-rue.

Thlafpi fcutatum, it. minus, acerrimum. ‘T’wo kinds of treacle
muftard.

Tormentilla. Tormentil.

Trichomanes ramofa. Branched-maidenhair.

Tricolor. fpec. viole. Panfies or hearts-eafe.

Trydaétylites. alpina, filicis genus. Fingered-fern.

Trifolium var. gen. acidum fl. albo, it. aquatic. fibrinum, it.
corniculatum, it. hepatic. aur. fl. cerul. it. pratenfe fl. minuto
albo, it. rotundifol. flor. purpur. Seven kinds of trefoils.
Tuba rubra Turcica. Turkifh trumpet-flower.

Tubera var. gen. Trufles, feveral kinds.
. Tulipa

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 125

Tulipa var. col. Various tulips.

Tunica. Pinks. — |

Tuffilago, f ungula equina fl. luteo. Coltsfoot: Dr Lockftor
thinks its effects are like thofe of tobacco, and that it might be
a good fuccedaneum to it; but befides the common Coltsfoot,
here grows alfo another different from the other in the fhape of
the leaves, being tapering and very narrow towards the ftem.
Mr. Morten Ruus informed me, that the latter were particularly
beneficial for recent wounds, the peafants, when efpecially in
harveft-time they happen to cut themfelves with a {cythe, apply
nothing but this herb to the wound, which it clofes as it were
inftantaneoufly. _

‘Valeriana greca maj et minor. Greek Valerian, the greater
and leffer.
_ Verbafcum mas et ie candid. et neg Mullein, white
and black.

Meanicn, maj. min, et minima, faxatilis. Becedpelte it is alfo
called Norway-tea, and grows every where in great plenty.

Viola matronalis, alba et aurea, it. fylveftris fl. luteo. Dames
violets, the garden and wild. |

Umbilicus veneris caule fanguin. fol. linguar. Red ftalk’d
Navel-wort-

Unifolium. One-blade.

Urtica maj. et min. mortua fl. albo. Nettles, and cai nettles.

In the before-mentioned Herbarium vivum, there are above
twenty more very fightly Howers and herbs, which the collector
Mr. Lang, was at a lofs under what kind of known exotics to
place, and much lefs has he prefumed to give them any name.
1 fhall mention fome others prefently, which I have had feveral
opportunities of knowing, previoufly obferving, that the foregoing,
lift, is a manifeft evidence, how the infinitely wife Creator has
abundantly furnifhed this land with fuch plants and herbs, as the The herbs of
difeafes of the inhabitants moft require. The diftempers, efpecially ae aa
towards the fea-coaft, being fcorbutic, there accordingly, as has itil
been obferved, grows not only angelica, rofe-wort, and gentian,
preferable to any in Europe, but likewife feveral other kinds of
excellent creffes, trefoils, forrels, and fcurvy-grafs. Among the
latter, Mr. Chriftopher Steinkul, ranks Erich’s grafs, a thick leaved

_ herb

126

Vol. II. p.
129,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUY

herb, of which I had never heard before, which is to be found in
great plenty on the iflands of Northland, and of which the inha-
bitants of the continent are faid to fetch away boat-loads, preferv-
ing it in tuns for winter provifion, as a fuccedanewm to cabbage.

SS EnC ae,

I now, purfuant to my promife, proceed to give an account
of fome vegetables growing in Norway, which are little, if at all
known out of this country, but are chiefly noxious. In the

parifh of Vaage in Guldbrandfdale, particularly in the chapelry

-of Sel, and poflibly in more places *, though unknown to me,

etows a very fingular and poifonous root, fometimes longifh and
knotty, fometimes rounder, and generally of the thicknefs of a
half-crown. “The leaves are a fpecies of grafs, refembling fedge,
the name of it is Selfnape, whether, as fome think it be the wa-
ter-parfley of the Germans, or whether Mr. Ramus more juftly
ftiles it Aftrantia fylveftris aquatica, Mafterwort, I fhall not de-
termine, efpecially as the worthy author himfelf {peaks with dif
fidence, faying; Aftrantia forte eadem, que aliis Selfnape, et
forte ad cicute genus referenda +. Such is the force of its poifon,

that if a beaft happens to eat any of it, which they are very apt

to do, he dies immediately, his belly burfting; and the very
fowls who prey upon the carcafe, foon after drop down dead, as
is particularly related in a letter of colonel Reifhwein to doctor
Simon Paulli, which is to be met with in the Acta Medica Phil.
Hafnienf. Th. Bartholin.+ A learned friend of mine has com-

municated to me a.copy of a letter which he lately received from

a clergyman, where, in compliance with his defire, he gives him |

* Mr. Ramus thinks that Oere-land is the chief place where they grow; but this
proceeds from his miftaking them from Gramen offifragum, which will be fhewn
to be a very different thing. pon / ie

+ In a letter of my learned anceftor Er. Pontoppidon, toSimon Paulli, idib. April.
1675, I find this herb to be alfo called Sprengrod his words are thefe 6 Exficca-
tum mitto tibi herbam illam, que Sels Noepe et ly bate appellatur.” ‘This laft

ionably alludes to its poifonous quality. |
eta lee 128. Similis eft ‘Apionis, fed radio habet craflas et nodofas inftar ~
radicum feu raparum Botfeldianarum. Si beftia, ut equus, vacca, bos, ovis vel
porcus illam. devoret(cujus tamen appetunt efcam, unde ruftici, ubi hee herba

crefcit, ifta loca circumfepiunt, in quibus copiofe luxuriat) ftatim moritur et dif-

rumpitur. Venenum ejus quoque tam vehemens, ut avis, ficadaveri involet, pa-
riter concidat confeftim, et fi inde repellatur, ftatim ex ere decidat moriaturque.
Hanc plantam hujus regionis incole appellant, Syllenabbet. -

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
him a more accurate tho’ not compleat.account, of its good and
bad effeéts in the following words: ‘“‘ This plant. derives its
name from the place of its growth, which is here in Guldbrandf-
dale; in the parifh of Waag, and the chapelry of Sels. It delights
in {wampy places, and begins to fhoot towards the clofe of June;
or the beginning of July, when the fwamps are entirely divided.
It bears a kind of grafs like the Norway Mafterwort, and its root
is about the circumference of a half-crown, fome round, others
oblong, as in the figure. None of the feveral medicinal dictiona-
ties, which I have fearched, mention either its ufe, or fo much as
its name, poflibly from its being unknown to the authors; tho’
a certain writer of Magdeburg {peaks of the Apium raninum,
which he interprets water-parfley, in the following manner ;
Affectat ovicula ex paludibus apium raninum, cum tamen inter
ovem et hanc herbam talis: énratdéa- ft, ut ovicula flatim moria-
tur, et in. fignum. mortis ex Apio comefte, in hepate ovis repe-
riatur veftigium inftar folii de Apio jecori animalis quafi impref-
fum. Which defcription evinces water-parfley and Selfnape to be
the fame; the latter being prefent death to the fheep; whereas
in {wine it is known to operate fo beneficially, that it is the beft
medicine which can be given them. The poifon of it is equally
fatal to men, as the inhabitants of Sels know from many melan-

choly inftances, and within my time, two children, having igno-

tantly eat of it, died foon after. Upon cutting a frefh root into
flices, and throwing it into frefh water, it emits rays of different
colours, and this water being put up with the Nape in a bunged
cafk, contracts a fmell more loathfom than any carrion. As

_to the virtues thereof, it is found to be a {pecific in arthritic

cafes, for which it is ufed in the following manner; being fewed
up in a piece of fine linen, it is faftened to the thirt fo as to be
placed on the part affected, either the arms, the loins, or other
limbs; upon its being warmed by the natural heat of the body,
the pain is immediately affuaged, and without any return, whilft
the Nape remains. applied to the body. This is known by
taking it off, when the pain immediately returns, efpecially if
the diftemper be chronical, or if recent, the ufe of this remedy
has been knowin totally to remove the diftemper within a quarter
of a year. Another fingular virtue has alfo been found in it 3 an

Pas], Boe Prey' |, inha-~

127

128 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
mhabitant of the above-mentioned hamlet ef Sel, had for feveral
years been afflicted with an: inward weaknefs, but whether it pro-
ceeded from the ftomach or the breaft was doubtful ; ; the man
however was in great mifery, and at length confined to his bed;
in his impatience he determined, without confulting any one, to
eat a bit of Selfnape, and foon found himfelf relieved ; upon the
return of the fit he applied it with the fame remedy, which effec-
tually expelled it, and at length he was reftored to a confirmed
ftate of health, lived feveral years after, and this many credible
witneffes can teftify. However, I will not recommend this as a
medicine, frequent experience having difcovered the fatal opera-
tion of it, as a poifon on the human conftitution. ‘This is the fub-
ftance of what I know concerning the good and bad properties of
the Selfnape.” _

Gramenomi. Another vegetable, pernicious to the cattle, tho’ not fo fatal,

> al growing in the manor of Sundbord, and in other parts of Nor-

Platex.b. Way, is a kind of ftur-grafs, or large grafs, the leaves broad and
pointed, with very little yellow flowers, its name among bota-
nifts is Gramen Offifragum Norvegium, It has a very remarkable
effect on oxen and cows, if they happen to eat of it; their
ftrength totally decays as if their bones were fractured, or rather
mollified, that without the flrange remedy of adminiftring to _
them the bones of other cows, which they devour with the ut-
moft greedinefs, they quickly die. The before-mentioned letter
of that eminent botanift Mr. Reichwein, to Dr. Simon Paulli, con-
tains a defcription both of it, as well as of the Selfnape : Among
- other things he fays, ‘ Confringit et conterit ftatim omnia offa,
ita ut fraéta inter pellem circa bacillum, circumvolvi poffint.
Non ftatim tamen exfpirant, fed eurari poffunt, fi illis exhibea-
mus offa contufa alterius alicujus beftiz ex efu huyus herb mor-

tue.” This laft circumftance, that the bones ufed for the cure
muft be of fuch cattle as have died by eating this grafs, is con-
tradi@ed in another letter of Mr. J. Fred. Marfchalch, in the
above-mentioned work, wherein is this paflage:/“ Non enim
audivi exhiberi illis offa animalium eodem gramine occumbentium
ficut Reichwinus beatus fcribit.” A gentleman of this country,
who from his own obfervation is acquainted with this ftur-grafs,
and fent me the original from which the annexed figure was
Pe 2 taken,

<<

——sS

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

taken, informis me further of this’remarkable particular, that a
cow with calf received no damage by eating this grafs, tho’ fuch
a violent corrofive in the bones of other cows; but whether, ac-
cording to the above-mentioned expreflion of Mr. Reichwein,
they become fo mollified that they might be twined round a
ftick, which (upon the death of fuch a beaft would be no difficult
matter to try) he could not venture to affure me. And Dr. John
Treubler, formerly city-phyfician, in his letter to Dr. Simon
Paulli*, doubts of it; and as this greatly confirms and throws a
light upon this point, I fhall not hefitate to tran{cribe his words

129

from the before-mentioned valuable colle@tion: ‘Mitto und cau- P, 143. feq.

lem graminis defiderati in frufta difleG@um, ut anguftia epiftol
caperettir, quod: ruftici noftri (quorum hac de re non paucos ex-
aminavi) Stroteerafs, dicunt, flores flavos jam amifit, plenos fee-~
minibus, adhuc tamen immaturis, locis paludofis et humidis cre-
{cit inter alia dumeta; prope omnes villas colonorum ptimum
gramen eft, quod vere prodit, unde avida funt pecora ad decer-
pendum, quam primum vero alia gramina copiofius prodierint,
hoc gramen averfantur, forfan propter caulem duriufculum. Ex
efu hujus pecora male habent, macie confeéta, {pina dorfi extra
protuberante (unde ruftici dicunt, quod dorfum fit fractum) pe-
dibus offibufque debilibus, ut egerrime incedere queant. Quod
autem prorfus mollia fiant offa, vix fieri poteft, alioquin omnia
animalia perirent et humi profternerentur: Pro. antidoto ruftici
femper habent exficcata ofla in promptu, qua quotannis confer-

vant ad hunc ufum, quando carne prius abrafa ufi funt, eadem

quoque offa in plateis et zdibus colligunt, que exficcata confrin-
gunt, et mox ab animalibus magno appetitu, in minima dentibus
comminuta devorantur, unde quafi falivatio fubfequitur, multum-

* Fowever fome naturalifts, on the other hand, make no manner of doubt of the
poffibility of an emollefcence of this nature, an inftance of which is the following
pafiage from Biblioth.-Raifonnée de l’An. 1746, Tome xxxvit. p- 262. **M. Petit
a eu bien des combats a foutenir au fujet de l’amolliffement des Os, que cet habile
homme avoit un peu trop cri avoir decouvert le premier. Plus de vingt Auteurs
avoient décrit avant lui cette cruelle maladie, qui détruit en peu de temps ce que la
nutrition, et I’ acroiffement ont fait en bien des années, et qui remet les os dans le
degré de molefie qu’ils avoient eu dans le fetus. Monf. Bevan en a donné un nouvel
exemple. Une femme fut attaquée d’une diabete, qui apparemment avoit extreme-
ment derangé les fucs nouriciers; dixhuit mois apres fes os s’ amollirent, fe preterent
a P action de mufcles, et fe plierent A tous les mouvemens, que la fuperiorité alter-
native des mufcles extenfeurs et flechiffeurs peut produire,

que

130

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

que aque ex ore profluit; ut ftatim melius habeant pecora et
prorfus convalefcant. Alii pro remedio in pharmacopoliis emunt
radicem tormentille;. plerique tamen et pene omnes offibus ac-
quiefcunt. Videtur (quia ruftici rationem nullam dare f{ciunt)
quod. pecora plerumque primo vere, terra adhue humoribus nimiis
feta, €x hoc gramine precoci tantam in fe humiditatem fuper-
fluam forbeant et devorent, que deinde per offa exficcari debet.
Unicuique tamen fuum relinque judicium.” ‘That according to
this learned. gentleman’s opinion, the bones of the cows are mol-
lified by nothing but the extreme -moifture of this grafs, is what
I mutt join with Simon Paulli in doubting ; yet, I cannot poffi-
tively affent to the opinion of the latter, that the foil where this
plant grows muft contain either quickfilver or lead ore, and. that
it is the mercurial f{pirit infinuated into this -plant, which thus
corrodes and diffolves the bones. But others may form a better
judgment of the matter thanIcan, ~~

Among this clafs of noxions roots in Norway, muft be ranked
Iglegrafs; the peafants in many places are very apprehenfive of the
mifchiefs of this plant, efpecially in the government of Nord-
fiord, where they {pare no pains to clear their meadows of it, as,
it operates on the fheep and goats by a violent {pafmus or con-
traétion, of which they die in extreme torture. Its root is large,
fhooting up a kind of buth of thick ftems, or twigs; the leaves
natrow, oblong, and indented, with blue flowers at the end ‘of
the ftems, which about harveft produce a hollow bud of twice
the bignefs of a pea, containing the feed, and fometimes it is
found full of worms and other infects. It grows chiefly in a cold,
watery foil. I have compared it with feveral figures, and find
that it has fome affinity with the Anemone; likewife, according
to Lonicer’s defcription of it, with the Sideritis or ironwort, ex-

cept that inftead of white or yellowifh flowers, it has blue. The

eating of this plant in fheep and goats, and fometimes, tho’ fel-
dom, in cows, is followed by the Virdfygee, a kind of vertigo, the
fymptom of which is fuch a contraction of the nerves, towards
one fide, that the neck and head are violently diftorted towards
its hind-parts, under which diftortion the beaft continues turning
round till it falls, and foon after dies. Sometimes, though not
often, a fheep is faved by opening a vein in the neck, whereby

eA the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 13%
the head is reftored to its natural pofition. The relief for a ram
ee cow is to perforate its horns, from whence a purulent

‘matter iffues. |

Another kind of noxious plant is known under the name of
Tourerafs, which is probably derived from its ettedt, | the word
fignifying the magic, or bewitching grafs;_ it contifts of long thin
ftalks, extending themfelves upon the ground, . with little roundith
~ Teaves about the bignets of a Danifh-fhilling, in other refpeéts

like moufe-ear. This plant affects horfes and cows with an un-
| ufual torpor, or a kind of lethargy, fo that the moft mettlefom
horfe immediately hangs his head, and becomes fo dull and trac-
table, as to be managed at will. It is a known practice among
jockeys, when riding together to a fair, to watch an opportunity
of conveying fome Tourgrafs into the mouth of another’s horfe,
if he chances to be fo much preferable as to prejudice the fale of
the latter. The refource of the peafants againft this diftemper,
and others incident to horfes and cattle, is either caftoreum, or a
piece of an adder, put into dough, and thruft down the throat
of the beaft. If it be not the adder’s head, but fome other part,
then the adder muft be killed before midfummer, and be fet apart
for this ufe. i

~ In fome places, particularly in Hardanger, the mountains PLO- Plate rx. fig:
duce a plant not unlike rue, but with fewer leaves, called Torboe, '
Tikewife Hefte-{pring (the. horfe-plant) from its particular fatality.
to horfes, and it is only in extreme hunger that they will touch
it. Upon the firft fymptoms of having eat any of it, a ftrong
purge of yeaft, or any other cathartic, generally relieves them, ‘or
likewife violent exercife, to breath them ; without this relief, they
are immediately feized with a prodigious {welling in their belly,
and a kind of lethargy. This herb, which is flatulent in the
higheft degree, is no wife detrimental to cows, theep, or other ru-
minative cattle, as in chewing their fodder they draw in the air.
There is in Vaasa plant called Turte, and from the little differ-
ence of the name, and the fmilar torpid effets, for which the
poor creatures are often mifufed by the inconfiderate peafants, I
was inclined to think it the fame as the former; but being very.
well acquainted with the Torboe, having an exact draught of it,

I find no manner of refemblance betwixt it and the Turte, which

PART I, | M m has

132

Wholfom
and palate-
able berries,

~

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

has much of the appearance of Angelica. ‘The Bears are faid to
be extremely: fond of it, and when by exceffes in eating of it,
they contraé an oppilation, they feek for relief “from the fleth of
animals. Mariahaand and Fandenthaand, i. e. Devils-hand, are two
roots fomewhat refembling a hand with five fingers, but diftin-
guifhed by their colour; the laft is black and ufelefs, and the farft
white, and good for fore heads, and other eruptions im children.
I fhall clofe this fubject of the plants in Norway, and their fi-
milarity with the plants, in other mountainous countries, with. the
following paflage from the celebrated Linneus, ‘‘ thofe mountains
which reach the upper region of the air, and the furface whereof
are continually covered: with {now, produce their peculiar plants,
of which the Alps in Switzerland, in Wales, the Pirenees, the
Olympus, Baldus, and Arrarat, are inftances, the like not growing
in lower fituations; as may be feen in Flor. Lappon. The plants
are no where fo expofed to ftrong concuffions of the wind, as on
the mountains, by which the growth and maturity of them is
confiderably accelerated. This is an expedient of nature to fupply
the fhortnefs of the fummer. Tournefort, in his hazardous afcent
to the top of mount Arrarat, at the foot of it, met with the fame
vegetables, which he had found all over Armenia; a little higher
he found feveral which had not occurred to him fince his depar-
ture from France; in his further progrefs, he found conyfa ccerulea
acris, cotoneafter folio rotundo, hieracium fruticofum anguftifolium
majus, jacobea fenecionis folio rag. euphrafia vulgaris, and others
which are common in Sweden; but on the fummit, he found the
very fame plants which are produced on the mountains of Switzer-
land, and Lapland.” The plants which are defcribed by Cefal-
pin, Tournefort, Columna, and Pontedera, as growing on the lefier
hills of Italy, abound in every meadow with us, all which pro-
ceeds from the air, and the altitude of the foil.

SE Ovtwaa.

A great variety of wholfom and well-tafted berries are to be
found in Norway; firft, here are, as in Denmark, and other
places, cherries of feveral kinds, of which, particularly the peafants
in Sognefiord, and Hardanger, fell great quantities dried. Hage-
bar; probably a kind of floes, an infufion of which in wine, like

cherries,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

_ cherries, makes pleafant and cooling liquor. Ribs, i. e. currants,

red and white, which are here called vinbar, i. e. wine-berries;
foelbar, fun-berries; hindbar, rafpberries; likewife red and white

‘ftickklefbar, Goofberries; brambar, blackberries: biornebar, bar-

berries; hyben, a kind of berries, which alfo are here called clun-

ger; blaabar, bilburnes; and a large fort of them called blaakbar, .

or krakeber, cranberries, and efpecially the wholfom and deli-
cious jordber, ftrawberries; of which there is ereat plenty, befides
many other kinds of fuch berries as are hardly to be met with in
any other country than Sweden and Norway: ‘The firft of thefe

_ is oexel or afaldber, of which a farther account fhall be given in
_ the article of trees; tegebar or teyebar, by Lockftor called uve-

norweg, growing on long ftalks which run along the ground, and
hanging at the end of them in bunches like grapes; the leaves are

‘like thofe of the cherry-tree, the bloffom white, {mall and coni-
- eal, the berries in appearance like currants, but far furpafling

them in tafte *, }

Lraneber, myrtillus repens, likewife grow on long {mall ftems,
{preading themfelves along the ground; the berries are red and
four, and, like the floe, do not ripen till winter, or rather the
{pring, when on removing the fnow, I have gathered them on the

mountain Filefield in their perfection, yet did not find in them

that high flavor which the rein-deer feem to enjoy in eating

them, and perhaps it is for their refréfhment that the God of na-

ture may have particularly intended. them.
Crakeber grows upon a fpinous ftem of a middling height,
not unlike the juniper-berries; the fruit has fome afhnity with the

* In Chinefe Partary grows a root called ginfeng, which from the defcription and

_ figure of it in father du Halde, Defcript. de la Chine, r. 11. p. 182. feems perfectly

to correfpond with the Norway teyober, though it is not the berries but the root,
which the Chinefe efteem fo rare and valuable, that it is fold by weight againft filver;
it 1s untverfally ufed by the phyficians of that country, as a medicine for the ereat

thoufand Tartars into the woods only to gather ginfeng. L’Empereur avoit donné

ordre a dix mille Tartares, d’aller ramaffer tout ce quils pourroient du ginfeng, 4
condition que chacun d’eux en donneroit i fa majefté deux onces du meilleur, et que
le refte feroit payé au poids @’argent fin.

. The virtues of this root are in the higheft degree of efteem, a decoétion of it being:
a moft powerful reftorative, invigorating the faculties, difipating humours, imparting
a regular motion to the blood, {trengthening the lungs, preventing naufeas, ftrength-
ening the oefaphagus, recovering the appetite, diffipating fumes and preventing verti-
go’s: Now whether fo many valuable properties can center in the tegebar, I leave to

_the inveftigations and experiments of the faculty,

bilberries,

ES

&

134.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

bilberries, but the juice thereof is white and fweetifh: The Fin-
landers in Nordland are very fond of thefe berries, and ufe them
as a powerful antifcorbutic. , BT bot a

~ Aaker or agerber, land-berries, derive their-name from growing
under the grafs:in the ridges betwixt the furrows, but they are only
found in the northern provinces, being of fuch a nature, like the.
tranebe, as to require a {harp cold to ripen them inftead of heat.
{In colour and figure they are not unlike bilberries, only fomethinge
blacker and larger, the tafte of them is a pleafant acid. In Sweden,
particularly the province.of Middelpad, abounds in them, and great.
quantities are carried to Stockholm, where they are chiefly ufed
to put in wine, like cherries, for a pleafant and cooling fummer-

. draught, - Linnzus, in the above cited paflage, recommends, that

Plate X. fig.
Y Cc.

Meelber.

Chamemo- ©

rus Norve- +

gica.
Plate X. fig.
c.

in tranfplanting them, during winter they fhould be covered with
{now to cherifh them, as without this fence they infallibly perith.

Tylteber a very wholfom and pleafant red berry, growing on
the mofs in high fituations. The ftem is fhort, the leaves {mall
like thofe of box, the flowers of a lively red. Thefe berries grow
fo thick that they are plucked off by handfuls, they are in fuch
vogue in Denmark, as to be fent thither preferved for the table,
and though their fweetnels and acidity be mixed with a bitter,
yet this is very pleafant, and greatly promotive of digeftion, which
has recommended it to be ufed at tables. Their juice is thick,
but when mixed with wine is exceeding palatable and wholfom.

Among the tylteberries grows another tribe called meelber, all
the difference betwixt thefe is, that the ftem of the meelbzr is a
little thicker, and the berries .a little flatter, but of no manner
of value, and full of little white grains like fand.

Moltebar, Chamcemonus Norvegiea, the Norway-ftrawberry,
grows in fwampy or mofly places, on ftems fomething larger than
the common ftrawberry, the flower whiteifh, with a round in-
dented leaf, about the circumference of a half-crown, if it hap-

_ pens to thunder whilft they are in bloom, the produce of the

berries is greatly diminifhed thereby, otherwife, fuch is the abun-

dance of them,. that they are carried as a pickle by barrels, and.

even tuns, to Germany, and Denmark; where, according to
Thom. Bartholin, in Med. Danor. domeft. by order of Chriftian
Iv. great pains were taken to propagate this fruit in his gardens,
| but

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

but hitherto to no purpofe, though I have been informed that in
Jutland, in the province of Vendfyfiel, they grow fpontaneoully,
but neither fo good nor in fuch plenty as in Norway; in fhape
they fomething refemble the mulberry, though not quite fo long,
of a flame-colour, their original tafte is much {weeter, than after
exportation, or when kept throughout the winter, tho’ the acidity
{till retains its agreeablenefs; and is withal fo falubrious, that our
phyficians are unanimous in commending it as an incomparable
antifcorbutic. ‘Thus are thefe, and other berries, together with
the before-mentioned fcurvy-grafs, angelica, trefoil, &c. an ample
provifion, which, according to the paternal views of the Creator,
nature has pointed out to the Norvegians for relief in their fcor-
butic diforders. Thom. Bartholin fays, ‘ Confeétio et {piritus mo-
rorum Norvegicarum omnium vota fuperat. Mori hujus ea in
profligando {corbuto depredicatur virtus, ut eo affectu laborantes,
Norvegi amandentur ad virgulta, ubi uberrima hujus fruétus eft
maeffis, ut illis folis baccis vefcantur, teftaturque experientia, fanos

35

In Medic.
Danor. Do-
meft. p. 160.

ad fuos poft illum reverfos.” I omit the defcription given of the De Med.

molteber by Simon Paulli, in his Flora Danica, page 139. becaufe %

Lochftor, in his already-cited differtation, charged it with inac-
curacy, and promifed one more correét, but was prevented by
his untimely death; unqueftionably fomething more. authentic
concerning the Norvegian plants might bave been expeéted from
him, than the little which is hitherto * known, tho’ the ‘know-
lege of it be very far fetched. However, what I have fet down
is fo far intitled to credit as having experience for its bafis, though
I muft withal obferve, that in the figure of the molteber, the
flowers are made a little too big in proportion to their leaves; in
the other figures of the Norway vegetables, I cannot difcern any
confiderable overfight, and the oreateft care has been taken for
their exact refemblance to the originals.

Several kinds of plumbs attain to a tolerable ripenefs, which
can very feldom be faid of peaches and apricocks, it being mere
matter of curiofity to plant and eftimate their trees, as is in moft
places here the cafe with vines. |

*In T. 1. p. 56. No. 66. Of Olai Wormii epift. is a letter to Nic. Pafchafius, bi-

thop of Bergen, which gives us to underftand that the famous Otto Sperling in his

_ younger years, travelled over this his native country for making a collection of Nor-
way plants and vegetables, the lofs of which is greatly to be-lamented.

~ Parr il. Noo Apples

orv. fufft,
2. Pp.

15;

136 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Apples and pears of feveral kinds are found all over the coun-
try, and the peafants now begin to apply themfelves to the culti-
vation of them both, with more kill and more diligence; but the
greateft part of thefe are fummer-fruit, which ripen early, the
winter-fruit feldom comes to perfe@tion, unlefs the fummer proves
hotter, and the winter fets in later than ufual. In this diocefe,
Sogneford, Nordfiord, and Hardanger, are the beft parts for the
growth of fruit-trees, many of the peafants there being able to
aust their yearly affeflments from their apples and cherries. Of
the forreft-apples, likewife, a cyder is made, but n not to any great
amount.

SEC T.. IV.

Of the woods - But tho’ in the article of fruit-trees, Norway muft be acknow-
CaN D ledged inferor to moft countries in Europe, yet this deficiency is
moft liberally compenfated in the bleflings of our inexhauftible
forefts, a blefling of fuch importance, that in moft provinces
immenje fums are received from foreigners for mafts, beams,
planks, boards, and the like, not to mention the home confump-
tion, for houfes built entirely of wood, beam upon beam, fhips,
bridges, piles, moles, &c. likewife for the infinite number of
founderies, which require fuch an immenfe quantity of {mall-coal
in the fufion of metals, befides the demands for fuel and other .
domeftic ufes;. to which muft be added, that in many places the
woods. are felled only to clear the ground and be burnt, the afhes
ferving for manure, and fometimes by negligence, in the drought
of fummer, the fire fpreading along the mofs, thoufands of trees
are weakened at the roots, and afterwards blown down by the
fir high wind. Nor is this all; the peafants alfo ufe an infinite
number of young trees for inclofures and fences for their houfes,
gardens, and roads, tho’ there be no want of ftone to anfwer that
purpofe. Thefe, and all other circumftances confidered, the want
of wood in N orway muft have been at leaft as great as the prefent
abundance of it in moft provinces, had not nature indued the
foil, even in the moft barren mountains, with.a moft fingular fe-
cundity in the {pontaneous production of trees; an evidence of
which are the many fhoots from the fmalleft fiffures of the rocks,
which thrive much better than when carefully planted in a wee
3 | oil.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

foil. However, here, as in other things, the difference in diffe-
rent provinces is very great. On the weftern-coaft, fome houfe
and fhip-timber are ‘exported to Scotland * and Spain, but this
cannot come into account in comparifon with the exports from
Drammen, Fredericfhall, Fredericftadt, Chriftiania, Skeen, Aren-

dal, Chriftianfand, Chriftian’s-bay, and Drontheim, where the

produce of the woods fupplies an immenfe'trade; the mafts and
large beams being floated down the rivers, and the latter divided
into boards at the faw-mills. Sometimes piles of it are feen in
the ports like little mountains, that one would imagine it muft re-
quire a very long time to remove them, whereas a fingle embar-
kation for England, Holland, France, or Spain, in a few days
{weeps them all away; yet in a few weeks thefe places are again
covered with mountains of timber. ‘The faw-works are the beft
manufacture in Norway, an infinite number of families get a
comfortable maintenance from them, together with the felling
and floating of the timber. Before the year 1530, faw-mills were
not known in Norway, the ftocks were hewed down; and with
the ax fplit into two planks, whereas now they are fawed into
feven or eight, fo that moft of the wood was wafted into chips,
which is the cafe to this day in fome places, where faw-mills are
not yet introduced, particularly at Sundmoer and in the province
of Nordland, where great numbers of boats and barks are built
of thefe hewn planks; they are indeed much ftronger, but con-
fume too many trees, the greateft part of which is left on the
ground to rot. The tenth of all fawed timber belongs to his
majefty, and makes a confiderable branch of the revenue, Nic.
Cragius in Vita R. Chriftiani III. informs us, that this duty was
eftablifhed in the year 1645, and further, that even in thofe
times, the large exportations to the Dutch, were at that time ap-
prehended to be detrimental to the national timber: « Regi
compertum magnam vim materie undiquaque ex Norvegia in
varias partes Europe exportari, ita ut fylve ad vaftitatem multam

* The Schot-laft, as it is called, annually exported out of the diocefe of Bergen,
unlefs brought under timely reftriGtions, is a manifeft deftru@ion of the forefts, as it
confifts entirely of young pine-trees, all fo {traight and pliable, that if left to grow to
mafts, they would yield an hundred rix-dollars each ; whereas now they are fold for
two marks and a half the dozen, and when larger, about twelve ells in height, the

dozen ufually goes at five marks, which, exclufive of the wood, of which fo much
pains is taken to clear the country, does not fo much as pay for the labour.

redj-

27

138

A catalogue
of the Nor-
way trees.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tedigerentur. Quod malum ne licentia nimia exitiofum reeno
tandem foret, edicto ftatim vetitum, materiam quoquam, nifi in
Daniam evehi.”” Upon this, the Dutch made a heavy complaint
to the emperor, who at that time was their fovereign, and he ac-
cordingly fent remonftrances to the king, but received for an-
{wer, that the neceflary prefervation of the timber required fuch
reftraint, efpecially as the peafants totally neglected tillage and
hufbandry, for the more ealy way of maintaining themfelves by
felling of timber ; Deferente plebe ruftica agrorum cultum, pre
faciliore opera materia cedende, jacere poflefliones fteriles et in-
frugiferas. 14
Thefe complaints are heard in many places, for altho’ the in-
creafe of tillage be at prefent double to what it was at that time,
yet on the other hand, from the increafe of the inhabitants, and
divifion of eftates among feveral fons, the northern peafants ftill
chiefly give themfelves to timber-labour. This could not poflibly
long fubfift, without that remarkable fecundity in the foil for
producing trees in thofe places, where the young trees are per-
mitted to reach their full growth, by the prudence of the pro-
prietor, or by the fituation of the wood, rendering the ex-
portation of it difficult ; for it is my opinion, that more wood.
tots in Norway, than is burnt in a whole year in Denmark. In-
deed the vaft and thick forefts feem to contradi@ any apprehen-
fions that ever the country can be in any want of common timber;
but as to the fir-trees, and oaks, it is to be feared that pofterity

will be at fome lofs for them, unlefs the foreft-laws are more
-ftriGtly executed, particularly with refpeé to young trees, of which

the continual exportation muft be attended with very bad confe-
quences. The beft wood for timber (for of other wood there is
plenty every where) is in the following provinces 5 Saltan, Helle-
land, Romfdale, Guldbrandfdale, Ofterdale, Soloe, Valders, Hal-
lingdal, Sognfiord, Tellemark, the lordfhip of Nedene, Bufkerud,

and in the counties.
Se Ge eV:

As to the feveral {pecies of trees, of which the woods in Nor-
way confift, the principal are the fir and the pine-tree. How-
ever I fhall endeavour to enumerate them all, according to the |

I beft

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

beft of my knowledge, in the fame method, in which I have al-

ready delivered a catalogue of our vegetables.
. Alm or|Elme, Ulmus, the elm-tree, is not very. common here,

but grows to a pretty confiderable height. The bark is dried,
grined, and mixed by the poor among their meal ; it is likewife:

boiled and wathed in meal *.
Afald, fee Oxel. |

Atk or Efk, the “ath grows almoft univerfally here. Among
divers other ufes of this tree, the peafants diftil'a balfam from it, '
called Afke-Smittel, or Afke-Smalt, which every man knows how’
to prepare, and ferves for a domeftic medicine both in internal
and external cafes. « Dr. Lochftor, in his Differtat. de Medic.
Norv. fuff: p. 16. ‘beftows the following encomium’ upon it;
Euporifton pro utroque {copo Norvegis eft oleum empyreumati-'
cum, vel potius balfamum, vulgo Afke-Smalt di€tum, € fraxino|
paratum, quod tam interne datum, quam externe‘adhibitum ‘mi-.

rabili fe ubique commendat effe@u. |

Barlind very much refembles, both in ind and appearance,

the foreign yew-tree +, but feldom grows fo large, and is rather
of ufe in hedges, than for fingle pillars or pofts. “The trunk,

which is of very moderate bulk, is {trong, and was formerly made .
-ufe of for fhooting-bows. ‘The veins of this tree are fo fine and

reddifh, that the makers of violins in Hardanger, ufe it for that
and other mufical inftruments, and the joiners apply it to the
purpofes of fineering and inlaying. ‘The young fhoots are fome-
times carried to Denmark, to be planted in the gardens of per-
fons of diftinction. There are beautiful hedges of it near Fre-
dericfberg. — |

Beenved is a tree not very common, of the fame kind with the
Privet. It is made ufe of for fine work, being hard and {olid,
which very well fuits the cutting inftrument ufed by the joiners
and turners in Norway. It grows on the higheft mountains. The
peafants make a decoétion of this wood, which is efteemed good
for a confumption. :

%* This powder of the bark of elms is boiled up with other food to fatten hogs,
— thrive fo much upon it, that the virtues of the bark of elms are even proverbial
ere. :
+ This tree is divided into two kinds, the fummer-yew, whofe leaves are fome-
what lighter, and the winter-yew, which is of a darker green, Our Norway Bar-
lind is of the latter kind.

Part I, Oo Birk,

139

40

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWANK

Birk, birchy grows in moft parts, and in-thé»greateft plenty.
It is of two kinds, the common birch, and a lefler fort with {mall
thick leaves. Birch is: made ufe of here for various! purpofes *.
It is:more. generally ufed' for fuel than any other wood,, and: is
carried to the great. towns for that ufe, and fometimes. exported
abroad from thence. But the bark is of greater utility, and that
in two refpecéts. The extreme white bark, which is diftingtuithed
by the “particular name'of Never; or rind, and. fométimes grows
again. upon “the farne tree from which, it hath been pealed off,
provided. this was done carefully, is fo.fat and ‘firm in its parts,
that it wilt efeape putrefaction for many years, evehin the.damp-.
eft places.: It.is om account of this quality, that, every peafant.
{preads, it. over, the fir.planks with: which his houfe. is covered,’
and. upon this Never he lays green fword:or turf to a confiderable
thicknefs: for the fake of warmth. The inner, or the dark. brown

bark, is applied, like the bark of oaks, to tanning of. fkins and

hides, and even fifhing-nets and fails, which it renders- more.
durable. The Scotch likewife ufe it for tanning their hides, and
pay eight Danifh-thillings for thirty-fix pound weight of it. Be=.
fides all this, thefe who like it, draw a wholfom and pleafant
juice from the trunk of this tree, as in the eaftern countries the
fame is practifed with palm-trees. They bore a hole in the.
trunk +, and the juice diftills into a flafk hanging under it, with-
out the leaft damage to the tree, provided the hole is immediately
ftopt by driving.in a wooden peg. __ Mee
Boeg, beech, is rather fearce here, except in the counties of
Laurvig and Jarlfberg. And it does not appear, that beech grows
{pontaneoufly at a ‘certain diftance northward, for according to
the obfervation of Linnezus, in the tranfactions of the Swedith
academy for the year 1739, vol. 1. p. 22. it doth not grow in
* Valbirk, the maple-tree, which {prings from the roots of fome birch-trees, is.
ufed in feveral neat and’poliflied works, being hard, firm, veiny and fpotted, and was
thought beautiful, when heretofore the drinking mugs were made of it.
+ Dr. Buchwald, in his fpecimen Botanicum, p. 51. fays of this birch-juice, -* in
{corbuto, ictero, podagra, nephritide, calculo, ac cunttis aliis chronicis morbis tarta-
reis, tam preefervativum quam curativum fingulare eft remedium,” A certain friend
affures me from his own experience, that from the buds of birch, gathered juft when
they are full of their refinous and vifcous fap, and diftilled with birch water, Or for
want of this in other good water, may be drawn a milky juice, which when it fubfides

and clarifies, leaves in the bottom and on the fides of the glafs, a pretty thick balfam,
which. being duly feparated is in point of confiftence, colour, fimell and tafte, exa@ly
like the precious, tho’ frequently counterfeited balfam of Mecca. ea

Sweden

'_*

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Sweden beyond Eaft and. Weft Gothland, confequently not very
far north.

Beg, oak, the frrongeft and. moft durable of all trees, was here-.

tofore in great abundance in this diocefe of Bergen, as well as
elfewhere, but is of late become fearce. The beft oak-forefts
are in the diocefe of Chriftianfand, particularly in the lordthip of
Nedene, from whence great quantities are every year carried to
Arendal and Chriftiand{and, for {hip-building, and many {hips
are loaded with it every year for Holland, tho’ the exportation be
prohibited. Norway-oak excels that of all other countries, ex-
cept the Danith, which is preferred to it. A decoétion of oak-
leaves in beer is ufed by the peafants in Norway, as a cure for
the gout or rheumatifm, by dipping a cloth in the decoétion,
and applying it warm to the part affected. ;
Elle, which is likewife called older and oor, the alder-tree;. is
of two kinds; viz. the roedoor; or red alder, this is the moft com-
mon, and the leaves of it are fomewhat rough; and Svartoor,
black alder, whofe leaves are fmooth and fhining; the latter grows
chiefly in marfhes and other fwampy grounds. The twigs of it
are judged wholfom food for the fheep in {pring, as.it expels the
water, which is apt to lie in their bodies, and to caufe a kind of
dropfy. The bark is ufed for a black dye. If it happens to fhow
after this tree has put out its leaves, then the leaves turn brown,
dry and wither, together with the trunk, which is occafioned by
‘a fpecies of {mall worms, which are faid to be in the {now, and

aftect no other tree.: But if it be cut down immediately, the root |

will fhoot again. |

Eneber-tree, (which is here commonly called fprake, and in
other parts of the country, brifk and brufe) the Juniper-tree, grows
in abundance almoft every where, and by the {preading of its
branches over the ground, {ferves to cover and cherith the young
fhoots of firs and other trees, but at the fame time kills the grafs,
‘The body of this tree, which feldom exceeds fix or feven ells in
4 *& s e C
length *, is ufed for poles and hedge-ftakes, as alfo for paling, it
__ * In the church of Troveer, in the province of Nordland, and diftri& of Senjen,
there are, according to common report, two pillars of juniper-tree eighteen ells high
from the ground, which, if true, and if the pillars are not compofed of feveral pieces,
is very extraordinary. It is more notorious, that the trunk of a juniper-tree is fome-

times thick enough to be fawed into {mall boards, which are ufed for chefts and cup-
boards, and always give an agreeable {mell in a room, |

I

being

T41

142°

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWXY.

being on account of its fatnefs more durable than any other wood:
In Nordfiord and elfewhere, a very valuable juniper-oil is extracted
from ‘the fruit; and fometimes exported to Holland. ‘1 he fame
ufe is made of the ‘Nie but not fo age now as ‘hereto
fore. = hot sa
Efp or bevertefp, che site ah ee, whofé leaves hake and trem-
ble at the leaft motion.’ The twigs are, like thofe of the birch
and alder-tree, given to the cattle, particularly horfes, when other

fodder is fearee.’ This tréé, which in other refpects i is very weak

and. tender, proves to be almoft incorruptible, in the water or hu-
mid ground, when it is laid down without being’ ftripped of -its
bark, and is therefore much ufed for Waterpipes “agi ele un-
der ground. '
Fyr, or as it is here called fure, the fir-tree, is of two fines the
red and hard fir, which grows upon the mountains, and contains

the greateft quantities of refin; and the whitifh fort, which grows

quicker in low and moift grounds, but is of much lefs value, ‘con-
fifting only of the bare timber. The fir-tree in general, which
grows almoft every where in Norway, is the richeft produce of
the country; for this fingle tree yields annually at leaft, I {peak
within compafs and from the ftrongeft affurance, above a million
of rixdollars, efpecially if we menade the advantages of the faw-
mills, and the mafts, fome of which are fold from one hundred
to two hundred rixdollars each *, Thefe trees, excepting thofe
on the mountains, from whence they cannot be fo eafily removed,
are now feldom fuftered to grow fo large as in’ former days, of
which we have the ftrongeft evidence in modern houfes, for a
peafant’s apartment, which heretofore ufed to be raifed by four
fticks of fir-trees laid upon each other, requires now commonly
feven or eight. The richnefs of the fap of the red fir-tree may
be eipdildedl among other arguments, from the age of fome of
our Norway-peafants houfes, which are fuppofed to be three or
four hundred years ftanding, if not more. _ We even read in Mr.
Jon. Ramus’s hiftory of Norway, that in the farm of Nes in
* A choice maft-tree, which when ftanding, may be'eftimated at fixty, hundred, or
hundred and twenty rixdollars, cannot, after it is cut down, be conveyed to the fea-
ports for lefs than double the prime cof; for befides the many other trees it requires
to forma kind of bed fot it to float upon, left it fhould be torn to pieces by the rocks,

fometimes an hundred trees or upwards muft be fel?d to make a way for it, and la-
borers are employed to haw] it in places impaffable for-horfes. |

ey Guld-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
- Guldbranfdale, the hou is fill fubGifting, in which king Oluf

lodged five nights in the year 1022, above feven hundred years
ago, whet he took a circuit round the kingdom to convert the
people to the chriftian religion. From the roots of the fir-trees
the peafants burn tar, even an hundred years after the trunk has
been cut down. This tar-is a very profitable commodity, and fo
excellent in its kind, that bifhop Berkley, in his treatife on the
virtues of tar-water, recommends the Norway-tar in preference to
any other.. An eminent merchant in this place has affured me,
that the difpenfaries in London apply to him yearly. by letters for
forty cafks of tar, the produce of Nordfiord, which is of a more
reddifh colour than any other. In like manner the fir-trees from
Norway and Sweden are in much higher efteem, than trees of the
fame name and appearance in the warmer countries, in Spain,
for inftance, about Tortofe, in Tufcany, in Dalmatia, and other
countries on the Mediterranean, which may indeed content them-
felves with their own for want of better, but could not fell them
in their own ports, if a Norway-man fhould import a cargo of
ours. There-have been attempts made to fow the Norway fir in
England and. other parts, but the difference of foil and climate
will not fuffer the trees to equal thofe of Norway. In re{peé to

the foil, it is not the good, rich and black earth, that favours this |

tree, nor the clay-foil, but rather the gravelly, fandy, or moorifh
lands. ‘The method of fowing other trees will not fucceed with
this. It chufes to grow independent, and to fow itfelf at plea-
fure. The beft method therefore is to hang up here and there,
on a pole erected for the purpofe, fome of the ripeft pine apples,
by which the {mall fubtil feed which lies concealed between the
knots, may be thrown out by the motion of the wind, and drop
‘wherever that carries it. In the fens, the marrow or refin of the
fir-tree is naturally transformed into an incenfe, which may be
called the Norway-frankincenfe, and is found in the fenny
grounds. The buds or pine-apples of the fir-tree, boiled in fale
beer, make an excellent medicine for the {curvy, and not fo un-
pleafant to the palate, as the tar-water, tho’ in effect of the fame
kind. In Sundmoer, and perhaps in other parts, fome branches
-grow upon a certain f{pecies of fir-trees, which appear quite mon-
{trous and ftrange in comparifon with the reft, for they are not

Parr I, Pp ! round,

143

TAA.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

round, but entirely flat, and fhaped in fuch manner, as almoft to

refemble the horns of a Deer.

Gran, the pine-tree, is, together with the fir, the moft univerfal
wood of this country’s growth. It is more beautiful than the fir,
in figure, height and colour, but far inferior to it in fap and
ftrength, which occafions the boards or planks of it to be fold at
a lower rate. The Norway peafants have fo little mercy upon
their pine forefts, that they feem to think it their duty to deftroy
them, infifting upon it, that they cannot poffibly be extirpated in
the vait traéts of land, which continually produce a freth fupply.
In the fpring, when forage is fearce, the peafant is permitted to
cut thoufands of young pines, but in autumn he is not allowed to
give his cattle more than the {mall fhoots. |

Hage-forn, the cornel-tree, and floe-forn, the floe or bullace-
tree, grows indeed in thefe parts, but is not planted in the green
hedges, as in other parts, for the Norway peafant is not dextrous

at planting, and thinks it a merit, if he ~ not deftroy the free

produce of nature.

Haffel, hafle-trees, are here pretty large, and in fuch abun-
dance, that it is no uncommon thing for a hundred tun of nuts
to be exported from Bergen alone. On the other hand, the wal-

~ nuts here are not of a fpontaneous growth, but muft be fet, when

they thrive very well, efpecially in the barony of Rofendal..
Hyld, elder, with its falubrious berries, is alfo of Norway
growth, but is neither here nor in Denmark, efteemed or made
ufe. of according to its worth. Sambucus aquatica, in Danith
called Vand-hyld, water-elder, the flowers whereof look like
fnow-balls, and upon that account in German are called fnowball
thrubs, is likewife to be met with though not every where.
Ivenholt, or ebentra, ebony, is by J. L. Wolfe, clafled among
the trees which grow in Nordland, under the mountain of Kolen,
but being without any additional confirmation of this, I cannot

deliver it as a certainty; I mwuft obferve, however, that the fol-

lowing words of Wormius, may have given rife to this opinion,
though he delivers himfelf with fome doubt; ‘“ Ab hoc ebeno
foffili diverfum eft, quod in iflandia reperitur, et laminatim eruitur,

‘colore nigerrimo, quandoque fubfutco, ponderofum et fragile, exfic-

catum ubi fuerit, quanquam mercator, qui ejus mihi copiam fecit,
2 lentum

NAUTRAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

lentum adeo et flexile efle, cum primum é terra eruitur, retulerit,
ut viminis inftar, in quamvis partem trahi poffit ac flecti. Fibris
_conftat ebliquis ex nodis hinc inde, plane inftar radicis majoris
eujufdam arboris. In iis locis iflandiz, ubi magna copia eruitur,
terra ad duas ulnas effofla, nulle plane funt arbores, aut fuiffe un-
quam, animadverti poteft. Quo circa nefcio, an eorum probari
poflit opinio, qui exiftimant, hic olin fylvas fuiffe, que relictis
tadicibus, incendio conflagraverint. Radicum vero truncos:4 fucco
fubterraneo vitriolato colorem nigrum contraxiffe verofimilius.
Muf. Worm. p. 169.

Lind, lime-trees, great quantities of thefe are found in certain
places, both with large, clear, and {mall dark leaves. The pea-
fants with the bark make very elegant butter-bafkets, or other
veflels for the carriage of the butter; likewife lines for hufbandry,
and alfo for fifhing. |

Lon, acer major, the maple alfo grows here, but little ufe is
made of it. :

Pul, willows of feveral kinds are to be found in many places,
but made no account of, except by the goats, who feed with
pleafure on its juicey and bitter bark; though of one kind called
falina, the bark is ufed for tanning fkins; the broad-leaved kind,
the leaves whereof underneath are woolly, goes here by a very
Jong and itrange nick-name, Traet fomfanden flaaede geden
under, i. e. the tree under which the devil flead the goats. What
traditional fable gave occafion to this, I know not, but probably
it arofe from hence, that as the goats delight in ftripping thefe

trees, as has been faid, fome one has conceited, that the devil by
way of retaliation, under this tree {trips or fleas the goats, in their
turn. But whilft Iam writing this, I have received from an in-
genious hand a more probable conjecture on the caufes of this
name, that feveral {mall threads, or flaments like goats-hair, lie
betwixt the wood and the bark. He further informs me, that a
decoétion of thefe fibrille is of a fingular virtue in curing. the
fcurvy. Whether this tree is to be found in other countries I
cannot fay *, |

Rofentrae, the rofe-bufh, bears here, as well as in other places,
r a white and yellow tofes, both double and fingle. |

ome attribute the properties of this tree to the fambucus aquatica before-men-
» for want of perfonal experience.
Ronne,

._ tioned, but how juitly, I cannot determine

145

146

See plate 1x.

TranfaGtions
of the Swe-

NATURAL HISTORY. of VORWAY.

Ronne, the wild Sorbus-fylveftris, the wild Service-tree, grows
every where, even on the parched fides of the mountains, nou-
rifhing with its berries, not only the field-fares or cock-thruthes,
of which. we have many, and in great perfeétion, but even the
bear, though the latter, generally, to the ruin of the tree, the
weight of his body breaking and damaging the tree in his climb-
ing up. ‘The young twigs are gathered with the berries on, and
ufed medically, in winter, againft the belly-ach.

Tindveed, the name of the tree called the Spina~Chrifti, or
Chrift-thorn, is pretty common, and being an ever-green, is fre-
quently planted near houfes.

Oexel, or Axel forbus terminalis, a kind of fervice. This tree
is one of the particular natives of Norway, and little known to
foreigners. Mr. Chriftian Gartner, who vifited feveral countries,
and had thorough knowledge in his proteftion, fays, page 47, of
his Horti Cultura, that he firft met with it in counfellor Shultz’s —
garden in Drontheim, on which account I have annexed a draught
of one of its branches with the leaves and flowers; Linneus
makes the following mention of it, Oexel, cratcegus, foliis ovali-
bus inequaliter ferratis, Hort. Cliff. 187. Crateegus {candica, fo-

dith Acad. of liis oblongis, non nihil lacinatis et ferratis. Celf. Upf. rs Te

Sciences for
the year
1741,Book ii.

P- 93:

grows in Oeland and Guland (Gothland) but except in Sweden
and Norway, it is hardly to be met with growing {pontaneoufly*,

Some places in the neighbourhood of Bergen produce this tree,
but not in great numbers. The ftock and branches bear fome re-
femblance to the fervice-tree, but bend more; the bark is of a
ereyifh brown, and veined; the leaves of a finger’s length, half as
broad, and indented, the points towards the extremity being fmall,
but the indenture within the leaf is fo deep as to make the ap-_
pearance of other diftin@ leaves on the fame ftem. At the extre-
mity of every branch, and betwixt three leaves, hangs a bunch of
thirty or forty berries, oblong, red, and, when ripe, diftinguifhed
with a black {peck ; their {tones {mall; the juice red; and when
infufed in wine very pleafant. Valerius Cordus, in Bi Tape?

* In fome few parts of Germany, efpecially in the diftrit of Fouringen, grows a
kind of tree, which is there called Arlfbeer-tree, and which by its defcription, has a
great affinity with our Oexel. See Allgem. Ciconom. Lexicon. p. 124.

2 com-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAN ~ 047

commends thefe berries, as a cooling, and at the fame time an
aftringent, medicine +. |
ee eM ke des ec ct a
Among the vegetables of this country, we muft further clafs Stadia

what by many is looked upon only as. a conflux of effeete ordure,
but is in reality, and efpecially when examined: thro’ a micro-
{cope, a regular vegetable, furnifhed with root, feeds, and leaves;
Tmean the feveral kinds of mofs, with which this country is over-
run, not only on the meadow-ground, where it is very detrimen-
tal, but alfo on the trees, from which, after a fhower it is eafily
detached, tho’ at other times adhering very clofely. This mof,
upon a narrow infpection,.is very different in colour, white, grey,
brown, yellow, black, and {peckled; in figure, being either en-
tangled like wool, or with, long filaments; or again with leaves
regularly difpofed, tho’ of different figures, and it is fometimes
full of {mall .round capfule,. as. recepticles of the feed *. This
mean and defpifed vegetable, which feems to die under a long con-
tinuance of heat and drought, immediately recovers-new life from
the rain, and is not made. in -vain by the wife Creator, it being
the fupport and fodder of many thoufands of rein-deers, on ‘the
barren fummits. of the mountains, ‘thro’ all the feverity of the
winter ; they. remove. the {now with their. feet. to get at this de-.
licious food; ‘and they can neither thrive nor live to any time, if,
as has been often tried, they are removed into another country

+ Thus has the Sovereign of’ nature libefally dealt out particular vegetables and
trees to every country, according to the climate and foil thereof, and the neceffities
of its inhabitants. — ith ts Lh yh | |

Nec vero terre ferre omnes omnia poffunt.
Fluminibus falices, craffifque paludibus alni
Nafcuntur. Steriles faxofis montibus orni,
Littora: myrteis letiffima. - Denique apertos
_ Bacchus-amat colles.. .Aquilonem et frigora taxi
_ Afpice*etextremis domitum cultoribus orbem, -
~ Eoafque Arabum /pictofque gelonos it AR
Divifee arboribus patrie. Vireiz. Georg. Lib. II, Ver. 109. _

* J. Chr, Buxbaum in Commentar. Acad, Petropol. Tom. Il. p. 271,. Treats of
feveral kinds of mofs, and particularly ‘gives the following account of a Norway-
mois: ‘* Genuina mufci fpecies eft mufcus Norwegicus, umbraculo ruberrimo infig-
nitus, mufci, Petrop:;quem Lournefortius incongrue Lichenibus accenfuit et Liche-
nem! capillaceo folio, elatiorem pelvi ruberrima vocat, deceptus forte .a {euto, quod
hic infummo fert pediculo, quum {ciret multos ex Lichenibus effe {cutigeros. Sed
hoc fcutum in hoc immufco vires gerit calyptre, fummo nempe capitulo‘ pyri-
formipofitum, et eft calyptra quafi expanfa. ed a fk hae

Part II, Qgq , where

148

Sea-vegeta-
bles little

known to us,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

where they may have their fill of the beft grafs. | Without plenty
of mofs, and feeking for it in their natural freedom, they fenfably
linger away. Befides this, our peafants make a decodtion from
many kinds of mofs, which is difpofed of to the dyers; this is
here called Borke, and makes a good red and brown dye for vad-
mel, the coarfeft fort of cloth ufually worne by the peafants.
There is moreover a certain kind of yellow mofs hanging on the —
branches of firs and pines, which is very venomous, yet applied to
a neceflary ufe, for being mixed in pottage, or with flefh, as a
bait for the wolves, they infallibly die of it.

Of fungous vegetables, which are called by the general name
of Skuroe-harre, or Champignons, i. e. mufhrooms, feveral forts

-are to be found here, as in Denmark and other places, particu-

larly thofe which are dried and fold by the name of Markler (the
fame which in England are called mufhrooms.) ‘Thefe grow in
the neighbourhood of Bufkerud in Hedemark and other places,
and are bought up by the curious to fend abroad ¢.

CH AP vr
_Of the Sea-Vegetables of Norway.

Seer. I, Sva-vegetables Iittle known to us. Seer. I. Several fpecies of fea-
graf. Sect. TH. Vartous kinds of fea-trees. Srcv. 1V.. Great and
fall corals.

m Be Pie

ITHERTO, I have, to the extent of my knowledge, given
H an account of the land-vegetables of Norway.. As to thofe
of the fea, it would give me pleafure if I could gratify the reader’s
curiofity with fome new difcoveries in this latent part of the
kingdom of nature. However, the little I have to offer is grounded.
on my own experience in voyages, and the reports of intelli-

‘gent fea-faring perfons. But left this fhould be thought a fubje&

of no utility, I fhall introduce it with the following paflage from

+ This kind of fungus is ufually found under birch-trees. They are of a reddifh
colour, with little white fpecks, penetrating through them, fome call them Flue-
{vamp, i.e, fly-fponge, they being boiled in_milk and fet out to deftroy flies; this
fungus being a {trong poifen.
| 3 | : that

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. TAQ
that ingenious naturalift M. Anderfon of Hamburg: “ It is to be aaa |
_ lamented that the botanifts, efpecially the Germans, for want of Greenland,
opportunity, being remote from the fea, have not, nor can apply Seeishs.
themfelves with a precifion becoming the fubje@, to make a col-
lection’of the marine-vegetables about this country, diftributing
them in proper clafles, with defcriptions of each. For fince I have
entered upon thefe {peculations, and collected as many kinds as I
could, they appear to me, matter of frefh wonder and moft ex-
quifite delight to.a devout naturalift, in the confideration of their
inexpreflible, and to a ftranger incredible, variety, figure, colour,
production, without roots, &c, and when I reflea, that nothing
_ but what is good and ufeful comes from the hand of the wife
Creator. I will afirm that thefe vegetables, however ufelefs they
may be accounted, not only afford nourifhment to innumerable
living creatures, but might for the moft part be ferviceable to
mankind, not only as food, efpecially in time of neceflity, but
likewife for powerful medicaments ; did not our infatuation for
what is foreign and coftly incline us to under-value them. Mr.

Martin, in his defcription of the Weftern Iflands of Scotland,- a

book well worth reading, has, in page 148, &c. thrown together

fome very valuable obfervations upon them, which he made

among the inhabitants of thofe iflands, who live in the utmoft —
fimplicity, and in a rational enjoyment of the little, which the |
author of nature has beftowed on them; inftances which fhould
raife a blufh in the effeminate and luxurious.” Thus far Mr. An-
derfon. As part of the inhabitants of the fea bear in their figures
a refemblance to thofe of the land, as’is feen in the fea-cow, the
fea-horfe, the fea-dog, and fea-hog, &c. fo fifhermen, and divers
who have opportunity of knowing thefe things inform us, that
the eminences and declivities in the fea, like the mountains and
vallies, are over-grown not only with fea-grafs and plants of fe-
veral kinds, but that Jikewife they produce buthes, trees, and
coral-{hrubs. In the chapter on the waters, I have already quoted
the teftimony of Kircher, grounded on the information of Ara-
_bian fifhermen. The bottom of our northern-fea, likewife affords
variety of fuch marine plants, fome of which muft be unknown to
the curious in other parts, and for their fatisfaction I have caufed
exact figures of the moft remarkable ones to be annexed.

Chap. xi. § 1.

But,

LEO NATURAL HISTORY of VORWYAY.
_ But as it is: not my concern to affion proper appellations to
- thefe marine vegetables, fo to diftribute them into their re{pective
clafles and genera, with that accuracy I could with, is, I confef&
above my capacity. I fhall only, agreeably to their figures, make
two general divifions of them into herbs and trees; the third claf&
being the corals or ftoney vegetables, which by fome are con-
‘founded with the fea-trees *. Mr. J. CG. Buxbaum, in Commen-
tar. Acad. Petropol. among other obfervations on marine plants,
fpeaks as follows, ‘¢ Plante fubmarine paucz fuerunt antiquiori-
bus note botanicis, quarum numerum valde auxerunt Rajus Plu~
kenetius aliique, qui his obfervationes fuas communicarunt. Dif
tinxit in aliquot has clafies modo laudatus Rajus, fed fi aceuratius
inf{picias, ipfum invenies confufum, nullos veros terminos conftitu-
entem inter fucos et algas et-mufcos marinos, que illi promifcue
nunc {ub hoc, nunc fub illo nomine proponuntur, meliorem.
plantarum fabmarinarum in genera certa divifionem debemus
Tournefortio, qui tamen in eo reprehendendus, quod fub fucorum
et corallinarum nomine, plantas inter fe parum convenientes com-
prehendat. | |
| lil Digs OE bien «is :
Several kinds Since my arrival in. this country I have made a collection of
of isan vegetables growing in the fea of Norway, and by it.I perceive,
that what 1s commonly called tong, fea-weed, or in Norway, tarre-.
alga; which is partly found growing on its root +, partly detached
by the wind, and by the agitation of the waves is drove afhore,
or among the appertures and corners of the rocks, is fometimes
green, fometimes of a dark. brown, fometimes narrow and flat,
like a blade of grafs, and two or three ells in length, fometimes
flender and round, but much longer, I myfelf having pulled up
a piece of no lefs than ten ells, confequently, they exceed many
trees in height, and even this might. poflibly be one of the fhort-
* In fome parts at the bottom of the red-fea, the coral-trees gradually increafe to

fuch a degree, that the veffels and boats are put to no fimall difficulty to clear their

yay through them. |
4 So ere of an analogy, I call thofe fhort ftems by which all thofe vegetables
are conneéted to fome ftone or other, which generally is drawn out along with. the
vegetable; for properly the fea-vegetables have no roots, being on all fides furrounded
with their alimentary matter, and thus ftanding in no need-of a root to imbibe their

nutriment, fo that the entire plant may be faid to be a root.
sat% ae
2

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
eft; fometimes they are found with a fhort, roundith ftem, and
leaves about two or three fingers broad, with {mall femicircular
indentures like the oak leaf, fometimes they are longer, ‘and at
the end refemble peacocks feathers; fometimes plain, fometimes
{cabrous, with hollow tubercles, but, as far as I could find, with=
out any feeds in them. A fea-weed is fometimes found ‘here,
with leaves of fuch a length and breadth, and withal even and:
fmooth, that I do not know of any of our land vegetables to be
compared to them; I have taken out leaves four ells and a half
long and one in breadth, and fo perfectly even and fmooth} that
at firft fight a ftranger would have taken them for green fattin 5

and among thefe weeds,. the lobfter finds both food and ‘thelter.’
Whether this tarre bloffoms like other vegetables, I cannot affirm.

from my own, knowlege, but a perfon of curiofity has affured me,,

that he has feen the flowers {wimming on the furface of the wa-:

ter, and that they refemble white lilies; and promifed at the fame
time to procure me fome. I here mean only the genera, not

doubting, but ‘upon’ further. fearch, .feveral particular. {pecies of.

them may. be found on the coaft of. Norway, and other coatts,
efpecially in Iceland, where the poverty of the inhabitants has
taught them to turn the fea-weeds to various ufes, every kind ac-

ror

cording to its nature, even to the grinding it to a kind of meal Tis ufe and

for gruel or pottage, which at the fame time provés a gentle ca--

thartic *... The peafants on the fea-coaft in thefe parts, who un-.
derftand their bufinefs, make ufe of fea-weeds for manure in ‘the:
improvement of their ground, and in the provirice of Nofdland,:

where in fummer-time the cattle find plenty of pafture on the
. mountains and among the meadows, but where on_ that account

they are the more pinched in their winter fodder 3; It is accommon
practice to fupply this fcarcity with dried tang, and likewife, with.

the heads of cods and other large fith bones; they alfo make what

they call a caw-foup, of which the beft ingredient is tang or fea- |

* Concerning the fpecies of the alga faccharifera as it is called, which when dried,
looks and taftes as if fugar had been ftrewn over it, and among the Icelanders, in
many cafes, is ufed for fugar: See Thom. Bartholini Acta’ medica, Hafn. Vol./ TH.

p- 174. Vol. IV. p. 33. Multa faxis marinis adheeret alge copia, quam vere colligunt, '
aliquo tempore interjecto album acquirit colorem, cujus eft etiam in commendatione |

fapor, cum dulcedine non inferior fit faccharo, Hanc quogue cum butyro comedunt,.
Iflandi. See alfo p. 159. relat. Borrichii.

Parr I. SRE weed,

152

Sea-trees, _

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
weed, * In England:and Scotland, where this vegetable is gene-
tally called clep, the poor people on the coafts turn it to a good
account, burning great quantities of it to afhes, for which they
are fure to meet with a market at the glafs-houfes; likewife by
reafon of the daline particles contained in thefe weeds, they-are
boiled for pot — and: the fediment is rth to be a good
manure. tisk

“Se OT.. TUL.

Befides hele fevalfer marine Brads; plants or weeds, the
ocean here produces various {pecies of large vegetables, which are
known by the name of fea-trees, and though of fuch as grow in
a bottom, a hundred or two hundred ‘fathom deep, none except
young fhoots can be drawn up entire, yet the nets, or lines of the -
fifhermen entangling in the tops of fuch trees, fome of the lefler
branches are torn away and pulled up to the furface; and thefe
branches are fuch as may be concluded to come from large trees,
I having one feven inches diameter, though i indeed it is thie only
one of that dimenfion, the others being but two inches and’a ‘half
or under, like the flendereft fhoots of cand-trees. If I were better’
acquainted with the latter, it would’ enable’ me to’ undertake - a
comparifon betwixt the congenial produéts of the earth and water,

and thus afford higher entertainment to thofe of my readers, who

Ufe of them.

have a tafte for botany. But as Burgermafter Anderfon; in the
pafiage above cited, corrects the great deficiency herein, I hall
add a fhort defeription of thofe in my collection, which were all
drawn up from the bottom of the fea along the coaft of Norway.
I mutt previoully obferve,; concerning the ufe and benefit of fea-
trees, that the-peafants hold them indifcriminately to’ be very fer-
viceable againft a diarrhoca, in’ which, however, they may be as
greatly deceived, as they too often are in their fuperftitious prac-
tice of hanging up a branch of a fea-tree in their houfes, as a kind
of talltinan or Pisa agent fire, Siferiig, in their way of

a Somié alfo tecaiiben their fwine-to eat the a sited, and an theme it is likewife
boiled, being otherwife too hard of digeftion; more particulars ‘on the ule of it are to
be met with in the Swedifh tranfaétions, worth the knowlege of the inuitriows farmer,

_ who lives near the fea, and is for making the sot ve “ip eae “

~~

2 . ; % | . ~~ reafon-

Sete

scoot
teeth rae oa

1 meager ee
Sentara

iialene,
wt

aS hee th
sn

Waree ee \
‘ “Sag

PL hay

es

Py

=

Ew ale VY

mas ee

—

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 153

reafoning, that thefe being natives of another element will repell
fire *, | .

J. This is the above-mentioned largeft branch, feven inches Fst X1.
diameter, but only on one fide, the other being fomewhat fmaller, hence the _
Jo as to form a Hat cube. The leffer twigs of an ell high, which scoring 1
{tand parallel to each other, and form a pretty intexture, are of
the fame figure. The bark or thin rind which may be peeled off
is of a carnation colour. The wood is of a clear white and very
porous, with orifices large enough to admit a larding-pin without
hurting the wood. In what manner the branch terminated, is
unknown to me, it being broke towards the end, and without
this accident, proportionate expanfion muft have render’d it not
only too big for my mufeum, but poflibly for my houfe.

II. This piece is two ells in length, and entire, as are all the
following. The -wood is compaé as if without bark or rind, the
{pread of the twigs like that of a currant bufh, here and there a
little more incurvated, perfectly fmooth, of a clear yellow, and
towards the tips or ends, as flender as a briftle, with {mall mofly
filaments hanging here and there among the twigs.

THI. ‘This is three ells and a half long, with thin and foft twigs,
refembles the artemifia, only expands itfelf more on the fides,
which is ufual in marine trees: In the thickeft part of this branch
the wood is pretty firm, with invifible pores, but the twigs to
their very extremities are ftudded all over with little boffes, of the
bignefs of half a pea, and thefe again {potted with dark boflés;
the general colour is a darkifh brown. In one of the cavities of
this branch, I found a {mall white capfula, of a chalky fubftance,
and in it an infe@ like a bug, which upon the capfula’s being
opened, was immediately in motion. This branch. pretty much
refembles thofe mentioned by Wormius, in his Mufeum, p. 234.
under the name of Plante Marine facie reledz, likewife Clufus
Exot. L. v1. C. 6. In the branches of this kind of marine wood,

* The natural and proper ufe of thefe fea-trees, and the like marine vegetables, is
ungueftionably for the retreat and nourifhment of the ith; of which, fome, as on ‘the
land, are predatory, living by flaughter; whillt others of more peaceable difpofitions
feed among the trees and vegetables, which are particularly known to be an exquifite
dainty to the fifth called Brofmer, The learned Theodore Hafe, mentions a north-

‘fea whale, the ftomach whereof being opened, was found full of tang or fea-weed
Bibliotheque Germanique, Tom. XV. p. 157. Thus are none of God's works faper-
fluous or unneceflary, though often difregarded or not underfteod. — ik:

which

134 | |§ NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUY.

which is the moft common in thefe feas, is often found the {ea-
. ftar, which fhall hereafter be defcribed under the name of Stella
_ Arborefcens, or, if my fancy may take place, of Caput Medufe,
~ and this creature from its delight in this vegetable may be con-
ceived to make it vital food, at leaft I have met with it in feveral
branches of this fpecies. | i
IV, This is an ell and half in length, a full inch diameter,
extremely porous, the twigs feabrous and curled towards their
extremities; bearing-round nuts of the bignefs of a {mall nutmeg.
This branch is of a ftraw colour, but Ihave another of the fame
kind, which, though of nearly the fame growth and figure, is
very different in colour, being of:a deep red, which renders it
very fightly.
V. This piece is two ells and half long; and the only one I
could obtain immediately after its being taken out of the water;
and confequently {aw it full of fap, frefh in colour, and in all its
vigour. . It was then far ‘more beautiful than fince it was dried,
being then of ‘a-lively red, or a fiery yellow. The chief limb is
as thick as a child’s arm, and the twigs as a finger. At each ex-
tremity is an oblong excrefcence, like a {mall pear, but this fruit
or leaf, I know not which to call it, is of the fame fubftance as
the ftock itfelf, a circumftance common to all fea-trees, none of
them bearing thin leaves. Having laid it in the window to dry, it
diftilled a mucilaginous liquor of the fame colour, but of a ftrange
unpleafant fmell.. Whilft this vegetable retained its moifture, it
had fome refemblance to human flefh, with fome minute iner-
{tices like pores, but upon the ftems being dried and {hrivetled,
they became larger, fo that now both in colour and figure it re-
fembles. ginger. | ,
_ VI. This branch is not fo fightly, and fomething lefs than the
former, to which both in colour and fubftance it is fimilar, but
not in figure, it being, as the plate {hews, flatter and coarfer.
VII. This branch again is lefs than the former, but far more
fightly, confifting of a bufhy aflemblage of many {mall twigs.
It is not thicker than a quill, fpungy within and woolly without,
as if covered over with the fineft cloth. Its colour is a pale yel-
low: It has a flat root, preferved better than any of the reft, by
which, this {pecies is conneéted with the rock. tk

Or

, Yes

=

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

35

VIL. This'is of the fame colour, and but very little larger, as uetin

_ likewife of the fame foft woolly fabftance, but without any
twigs, and confifts in one flat thin and extended piece, not un-
like the ear of a dog, full of pores and fubtle branches, like green
leaves when viewed againft the light.

IX. This is an orbicular fungous vegetable, of the coke of

the former, but not a quarter of an ell long. At one extremity
is a round pedicle two inches long, and at the other extremity an
aperture, running quite through like the pith in elder. This: ve-
getable is compreffible, - but elaftic, immediately recovering its
roundnefs; in foftnefs and delicacy, it exceeds any which'I have
feen, and: unqueftionably might be made ufe of Ay surgonss if
they could have it at pleafure *. |

_ X. This vegetable is fomewhat harder, but fmooth andl fun=
gous. Its colour is a dark brown; it is covered with a thin bark,

the infide of which is full of imperceptible, yet very fharp points,
of a vitreous nature, fo that it may be ufed in polifhing, but not
with the naked hand; thefe points eafily penetrating into the fkin,
‘and being as difhcult to be got out. This grows, like the muth-
room, in deep grounds, and fometimes weighs thirty-two pounds.

‘The fifhermen draw it up with their lines or nets.

KE Al vegetable three half-quarters of an ell in length, in Seis :

not unlike the Liguftrum, covered all over with muiltitudes of
{mall angular nodes, fo clofe, and at the fame time fo flenderly

joined, that on the leaft fhaking of the branch fome of them: fall
off. Thefe {mall nodes, which to the naked eye appear like fo
many gtains of buck-wheat, make a very {plendid appearance thro’
the microfcope, as if they were filver and gold laminz, or fhields
curioufly embofled with figures. The branch itfelf is round, black,
and {mooth.

XI. This <issa very tender incurvated beach: whofe pies
likewife are full of glittering points and angles, but its extremity
perfectly refembles the Conchz anatifer, of which I thall {peak
in: another place, the only difference being that the mulcle-fhel]
is invelted with a thin brownith tegument, and but of half the
YOe esneenis thefe fpungy marine fubftances, fome relate that they have a kind

of Syftole, and Diaftole, are that in its moft fubtle parts thefe are difcernible long
ee its being taken out of the fea, till the total evaporation of all its moifture.

ma ART 4, of big~

156

Voyage aux
Ifles de PA-
merique,

Tom. 11. p.

1 bao

Sea-bean.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUP

bignefs of thefe; tho’, in time, it might have equalled it; three
other long, but fmaller mufcles, doubtlefs of the fame kind, but
thin and foft as a herring-{cale, hanging on the fide of this
branch. | | ics usmeriale nell
Concerning the quicknefs or flownefs of the growth of thefe
feveral vegetables, nothing’can be advanced very pofitively ; but
of a certain fort ufed in the Weft-Indes for burning lime, fathér
Labat relates, that he obferved the branches to grow four or five
foot in two years, tho’ never above the furface of the water, yet
growing there upon much higer grounds than hath fallen within
our obfervation here. The branches on reaching the furface of
the water, {preading themfelves as it were to avoid the air, for
which their porous bodies are not adapted. If it be afked, whe+
ther thefe fea-trees bear any thing, which may properly be called
a fruit or feed, though nothing like it has occurred to me or any
of my correfpondents, yet along our fea-coafts one meets fome-
times with fubftances which favour the afhrmative. Among thefe
I particularly reckon one, to which I fhall take the liberty of giv-
ing the appellation of Faba-marina, a fea-bean. It is of the fize
of acheftnut, orbicular, yet flat, or as it were comprefied on both
fides. Its colour is a dark brown yet in the middle, at the junc-
tion of the fhells, it is variegated with a circle of a {hining-black,
and clofe by that another of a lively red, which have a very pretty
effe&. The infide of the thell is entirely black, but the kernel is |
of a pale yellow, and in tafte, when dried, not unlike aF rench=
bean, fo that could they be had in great quantities, a very good
ufe might be made of them. Mr. Frederic Arentz, fuperinten-
dent in Syndfiord, who lately fent me a fample of them, fays, that
they were found among the Tang, and other fea-weeds, which had
been thrown up, and driven afhore by the wind and waves, from
whence they might be concluded to belong to the fea, unlefs they
are to pafs for an Indian vegetable of the tribe called Pediculus
Elephantinus, which, by the lofs of fome fhip, was, in the courfe |
of time, brought to this coaft. But having received fome of thefe
beans from another virtuofo, who lives fome miles from hence, the
arrival of them on this coaft, is more ufual, than agrees with any
fach opinion. As to bringing this vegetable from the oppofite
coafts of America, whence wood and the like are known to be

I driven

NAUTRAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 157

driven towards Iceland, this is fo long a voyage, that the beans
would infallibly putrify, or at leaft be damaged before their ar-
rival, which however is not the cafe, the tafte being, as is al-
ready obferved, exactly that of the French-bean, without the leaft
mixture of the faline property. An account of this exceeds my
comprehenfion, but it is fo with the fea-trees themfelves, or with
their fhoots and buds, which may be looked upon as their leaves.
They are quite infipid, tho’, till dried, not without {mell. Con-
cerning thefe fea~beans, I fhall further add, that the famous Hap- ace
pelius mentions fome marine berries without tafte, growing Libiii.cap.6.
on thofe weeds, which the Spaniards call Sargaffo, and the
Dutch, fea-parfley, with which the fea near Cape Verde is over-
grown for feveral miles.

ore co. TY.

. | From the defcription of the above marine vegetables, or trees, ee ce
efpecially the pieces four, five, and fix, they may be premature —
corals, the confequence of their inward and outward parts being

fuch, that the principal or only difference lies in the want of hard-

nefs.- If I could be convinced that the corals are not originally

hard, but gradually become fo, by a kind of petrefaction, I alfo

fhould fubfcribe to that conje&ture, but what fufpends my affent

is *, that among the northern corals, fome plants, which from their
-fmallnefs may be judged to be young, yet in their firft vegetation

feem of a compleat hardnefs. This is confirmed by Pel{choor, Tyrocin. chy-
who fays, ‘¢ That the divers, who-.have been among the coral cap.x. p.153.
bufhes under water, found none foft, but of the like hardnefs as
afterwards.” Thus it is not the air which indurates them as

O. Wormius imagines: Soliditatem demum debitam, ab aére am- tn Mutt. p.
biente acquirit. This from the two following verfes, appears to?”

have been alfo the opinion in the times of Ovid.

‘Sic et corallium, quo primum contingit auras,
Tempore durefcit: mollis fuit herba fub undis.
| . Metam. Lib. xv.

* Sir Thomas Brown in his Pfeudodoxia, or Enquiries into Vulgar Errors,
Lib, II. cap. v. p. 72, where he juftly rejeéts the opinion of corals hardening after
being brought into the air; yet believes that the jaline petrific fpirit in the water,
does not at the fame time operate univerfally on all the parts of a plant. All coral

is oe hard, and in many concreted plants, fome parts remain unpetrified as
wood. .

Among

NATURAL HIST O R'Y lof NORWAY.

_ Among the Giake they were not ‘improperly called? xiteaaiay
i. e, ftone-trees, {tone in fubftance, and trees iti ‘growth and figure.
Among the branches of the feveral northernivegetables in my; pots

feffion, hang feveral foft filaments, about three inches: in length;
and the bignefs of a ftraw; thefe I look upon: to be other’ marine

‘Defcription
of feveral co-
rals.

See plate xrv, |
fig. A.

Fig. B.

Fig. E

plants different from the coral, tho’ their colour, like! that of the
coral, ‘is: ofa pure white. “I have alfo perceived a browioil or fap
to diftil: from: the orifices of a- coral eapfula; ; whiclip as far as it
reached, ‘made a vifible alteration in the whitenefs of the coral, I
fhall now exhibit a concife view of my colle&tion of northern
coral-plants, which were halle up: in nese. ra both a
and in: Sundmoer.

. 1. A piece half an ell in tents a a danbtep 8 half in
fecaitiie its fhoots open and expanded, with pretty large flowers,
or ftones; its colour perfectly white.

a. A thick piéee almoft ‘round, with its twigs intermingled like
a thorn, | the’ ftones {mall ‘and black, all 38 other _ i
lowifh.

3. This is a quakeail el half boilge adi aA equatnee ef an elles in
bicadehiy: implicated: almoft like the former, but flatter; entirely
white, the flowers much larger than the former, fome of them
even exceeding a-fhilling; and likewife expanded like a flower

in fall bloom, for. which nso are I re a pean of i it -

to be taken.

4. A piece of Joel cderbte thicknals ithe main hoot eh
ftronger than the former, with a large and elobular node, like the
capfula‘of a flower before its bloom; but the otlier twig has open
ftellated flowers, with a cavity larger than the former.”

gs, A fmall elegant coral fhrub, with flat: fhoots, being an ex-
act reprefentation of the extremities of a flag or ppeigs s reel
adhering to a ftone. ~~ > | | |

6. Another of the fame wes rate growing sain a. fone,
of a eg colour, as is: the former.
. This is very flender, being a plant jut ‘besinning to open
ri flone. |
8. The like, but more expanded. melt) AS AIWORS BEES
9. This is no bigger than the tip of the gets but ented in
a manner, the like of which I have never feen. It fomewhat re-

“ fembles

ee a |.

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ie ae it
ele
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es!

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spe See ne semen

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ry

a et i le

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY,
fembles a fmall funnel, and its fides form a beautiful web like

the fineft filigrin work, of a ftraw-colour. | 7

to. Of the fame colour as the former, flat, with feveral pretty
indented fhoots, about a finger in length, and half as broad, but
appears to have been much larger before it was detached. from

the body of the plant; which, when entire, muft make a very

beautiful appearance. . al
In Nordland. are fometimes found coral plants. or fhoots, of

which one fide is red and the other white, but, having never feen

any, I cannot warrant the certainty of it; but I have a brown
ftone of the bignefs of two fifts, incruftated with coralline fub-
ftances, the external colour of which is carnation; but within it
is of the whitenefs of {now; it confifts of fome hundreds of reat
and {mall round boffes or buds clofe to each other, and forming
an agreeable figure. Very probably thefe would have been big-
ger had they remained longer in the water. This piece I account
a Madrepora abrotanoides tuberculis horizontaliter pofitis, and»in
a collection of the naturalia of Norway, I have fince feen larger
and taller plants of this nature. = = ni
The fifhermen often fell coral bufhes to the apothecaries at

Bergen, and, upon being afked, what is their opinion ‘about the

origin and growth of this marine vegetables they anfwer, that
fometimes a white drop is obferved to fall from the branches of
the old coral, as well as from the fea-trees, as if it were milk or
feed, and where this falls a vegetable is produced according to its
{pecies. This account is in fome meafure, confirmed by this,
that the vegetable, number feven, has under it a white and flat
macula like a root, {preading to the extent of the plant. The
fame likewife is further attefted by Tavernier, in his travels to In-
dia, where he {peaks of the coral-fitheries in the Mediterranean,
but he is miftaken, in imagining that not the leaft fprig of it was
to be found in the whole ocean, our northern. coatts manifefting
the contrary: As to its medical. ufes it has the chara@er of being
abforbent, refrigirative, emollient, aftringent,. and ftrengthening,

hSD

Fig. G.

Some other
kinds,

which may be true, when the tin@ure of it, confifting of the ex-

tracted falts or oil, is adminiftred inwardly; but, that the little
beads, made of the coral (they not being as fome imagine, fruits
or little berries growing thereon,) are endued with any fuch: fin-
warner J, | Tt ” “gular

160

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
gular virtue that whien applied externally, or hung about the neck,
they are a prefervative againft the apoplexy, the plague, and other

- contagions, I catinot admit, having no evidence of it, but muft

@f Pebbles.

A perifhable
kind of

pebble.

leave it to reft upon its own credit. It is certain that the dealers
in coral at Genoa, and Marfeilles, have’a ereat vent for their
commodities in the eaftern countries. ‘Tournefort fays, that all
over the eaft they wear necklaces and bracelets of coral beads
brought from Marfeilles. Poflibly could white coral be brought
into fafhion, a diligent fearch might procure as great a quantity
in our feas *.

Se one coer On a ters
Of feveral kinds of Gems and curious Stones in N orway.

Sect. I. Of Pebbles. Secr. Il. Marble of different finenefs and colour, Spar,
- or glittering ftones, Alabafter, Chalk-ftone, and the like. Sucr. Wl. Sand-
. ftone, Mill-ftone and Slate. Suct. IV. Talk. Sucr.V. The Magnet.
Sect. VI. Amianthus, or Afbeftos. Sect. VII. Pyrites, and Quartz or
Marcafite: Sect. VUI. Cryffal and Ifinglafs. Sect. 1X. Granate, Ame-
thyft, Chalcedony. Sect. X. Fafper and Agate. Secr. XI. Thunderbolts,
and other figurated ftones. Sect. XII. Some fiones plainly indicating their
_ fubjiance formerly to have been foft and flud. , |

N the order I propofed after the vegetables and plants in
Norway, follow the feveral fpecies of ftones, with the feveral
metals and minerals refident in them; but in this feventh chapter,
I fhall confine myfelf to the former, referring the metals and
minerals to the enfuing.

SECT. IL

Tt is the lefs neceffary to dwell upon the common pebbles, of
which the mountains here and in other parts chiefly confift, they
being well known; and I having offered my thoughts concerning
them in the fecond chapter, on the origin, formation, and difte-
rent figures of the faid mountains; but one particular concerning
thefe pebbles muft not be omitted; which is, that a certain brown
# Concerning the white coral fifhed for in the Jakes of Numidia, and which differs
6nly in colour, Doétor Shaw, in Tom. UH. App. p. 124. of his travels, fays, that it is
{carce, but whether it bears a higher price there, I am not informed,

2 : ; kind

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

“kind of them decays with age fo like old wood, to which, in its
incurvated veins and channels it is not unlike, diffolves between
‘ones fingers; drops from the mountains into the fea, and fome-
times occafions the afore-mentioned calamity of a difruption; fo
that the traveller round the N orway-coalits, may find fufficient
proof to confute thofe vifionaries of all ages, who have imagined
the world to be eternal; and thefe proofs may be drawn a priori:
For if the world were eternal, its decline could not be fo con{pi-
“cuous as it is, within the few centuries, which we can compute
with certainty. Time, the voracious confumer of all things, ex~
erts its corrofive power every where on the hardeft rocks, but
‘more remarkably in certain places; and whoever has lived any
time on thefe coafts muft have obferved the ftones diffolved, and
the feparation begin in the veins, where the pores and fofter fub-
ftance fooner yield to the daily impreflions of the air and fun.
In many places the northern grey and black pebbles are .inter-
mixed with iron, copper, lead, filver, and even gold; of which
we fhall treat in the fequel. Great quantities of thefe pebbles are
at prefent ufed for building houfes, walls, and inclofures, efpecially
in and about Bergen, the neighbouring mountains furnifhing
them with little labour, nature itfelf having as it were prepared
them by fiffures, into which, the wedges being driven, fuch flat
angular pieces fall of, that without being fhaped by the chifiel,
they fuit one another fo well, as to form a compaé wall. In
fome places, efpecially at Gloppen in Nordfiord, I have been
amazed to fee whole mountains confifting of thefe pebbles natu-
rally divided, and as it were cloven, almoft of equal fizes, that is,
from two to three cubits each, as if they had been fawed both
longitudinally and tranfverfally. Thefe pieces are eafily lifted
with two hands, and refemble the ruins of an old wall. Mr.
Bufton fpeaks of a mountain of the fame nature near Fontaine-
bleau. Thefe northern fragments lie near the creeks, and being
eafily embarked, might load feveral thoufand fhips, the quantity
being fufficient to build large cities. How thefe regular fiflures
and {eparations may moft rationally be fuppofed to have happen-
ed, foon after the deluge in the originally foft, and afterwards
gradually indurated pebbles, I have offered fome conjectures in
the fecond chapter, which treats of the foil and mountains in
aaaa general,

16%

162

Steenur,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

general, where I likewife confidered the difruptions or breaks of
mountains. When a part of a rocky mountain, being undermined

and detached, falls from its vaft height, and in its fall happens

to ftrike on a hard ground, and is broke into fome hundreds of
{maller pieces, this collective body of fragments is called ftenur,

and the innumerable points and angles of thofe broken ftones

render the roads extremely troublefom, tho’ fometimes they are

obferved to lie in fuch fymetry, that their former cohefion may
be judged from their concave and convex fides. In the parifh of
Houg, three Norway-miles from Bergen, about twenty years ago, —
avery furprifing accident happened to a man, who walking under
a mountain, was en a fudden entirely covered with the fall of
fuch a congeries of large ftones, which formed a kind of vault
around him. Here he remained unhurt for feveral weeks; his
friends, who by his outcries had found the place of his confine-
ment, knew not how to extricate him, the ftones being immove-
ably large. They reached him meat, and drink, for fome time

' by means of a pole, thro’ the crevices, but at laft, the ftones fell

Marble of
feveral kinds.

in and crufhed him.
ESE Cer If.

Marble, which in moft countries is fo fearce, and bought up at
fo great a price, is found here in feveral places, and in fuch quan-
tities, that if all Europe were to be fupplied from hence the quar-
ries would not be exhaufted; for feveral ridges of mountains con-
fift almoft wholly, or, however, chiefly of marble, upon breaking
the lapidious incruftation, which is a porous fubftance, and about
an ell or two deep, as a tegument to the more precious marble,
in comparifon with which, it appears to have a kind of foam or
froth, interfperfed with {mall orbicular cavities, as the furface of
melted wax, or the like after its induration. I have elfewhere
confirmed the opinion of the liquefaction of the rocks, as built on
other unexceptionable grounds, exclufive of thefe incruftations.
Had the inquifitive Mr. Tournefort reflected better on this truth,
and the confequences which may be drawn from it, he would not
have been under a neceflity of aflenting to the ftrange pofition of
the vegitation of marble, to account for fome fhoots and excref-
cences of marble found in a cave on the ifland of Antiparos,

2 i | | fome |

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

fome depending from the roof of a cave, others {hooting out of
the ground like trees or plants, which he aétually reprefents them
to be: His words are, I]. femble, gue le nature nous avoit voulu
montrer. par-la comment elle s’y prend pour la vegetation des pi-
erres, il femble, que ces troncs de marbre vegetent, car outre qu'il
ne tombe pas une feule goutte d’eau dans ce lieu, il n’eft pas con-
cev able, que des gouttes tombant de 23 ou $2 brafies de haut

_ayent pu former des pieces cilindriques terminées en calotte, &c.
‘So. far he is right, that another origin of thofe figures muft be

fought here, than thefe Stala@ites, as they are called, or drop-
ftones, which are frequently found in fubterraneous caverns; yet
there is no neceflity of recurring) to the vegetation of marble; a

third caufe offering itfelf, that thefe long fhoots and. drops. are
unquéftionably an immediate work of nature, and may, or rather
muit have been produced at one time, and if they muft be called
vegetables, they may have {prung up in a night, like muihi ‘o0Ins,
or perhaps, inan hour, or even a minute; and that during or im-
mediately after the deluge, when the detached or liquefied a
fubftances began again to fettle and confolidate, In that cafe,

- js not in the leaft improbable, that fome of the fofteft part of ce:

marble, confolidating laft, fhould meet with a refiftance from
thefe parts of the marble, which had already fubfided, and run
into thefe thoots, clufters, and other figures, in which they ap-
pear at prefent. This is:‘moft evident in marble and other hard
ftones, not only from other indications, for they manifeftly con-
tain folidum intra folidum; but particularly from. the beautiful
blendings of. their colours, and {pots, veins and ftreaks, like a
dried mixture of oil colours, which, when cut through, fhew the
like intermingled f{treaks, as in our marble quarries. I myfelf am

| poflefied of fuch a piece of artificial marble, though I confefs it

is much dearer, and deficient in folidity, which only it can obtain
in ‘the laboratory of i the MPEG, mafter of nature *,

* Potibly the ancients had the art of givifig it its proper hardnefs, as muft have
been the cafe, if we fuppofe thofe vaft columns and obelifks of Egyptian marble forty

eight ells in height not brought to Rome in one entire piece, which appears difficult

if not impofh: ble; but to have been fuch an artificial granate. Dr. Shaw, in his travels
to the Levant, T. 11. Ch. 1v. p. 81, 82, fays, fome have imagined Pompey’s column
and the obelifks of Rome, and Alexandria, to be an artificial compofition of cement
and fands, caft in a mould:

Paar lL Uu | Mott

163

164 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Moft of the Norway marble-mountains are ftill unknown as
fuch, and will in great meafure continue to be of no advantage,
except thofe which are contiguous to the fea or the creeks, for the
ready {hiping of the marble. I omit the mention of thof mar-
ble-mountains which I have obferved in my journies, particularly
at Lillemios in Walders, and elfewhere, much lefs thall I take
upon me to give an account of the new marble-quarries under-
taken at. the charge of colonel Eigtveds, archite@ to his majefty,
and other proprietors, not far from Drammen, in the diocefe of
Aggerhuus. But, inftead of thefe, I fhall- take notice of thofe
marble-quarries in the diocefe of Bergen, which have been broke
up within this century, chiefly by the family of Lilienfchiold, and
partly carried on by others, of the produce of which the palace
of Chriftianfberg at Copenhagen is an illuftrious inftance. Some
thoufands cubic feet of northern marble, have already been ex-
ported for that edifice, efpecially from Mufterhaven, and continue
ftill to be carried thither, befides the demands from England,
Holland, Germany, and the countries on the Baltic, and even
from Sweden itfelf, which is in no want of good marble, tho’ the
Norway is efteemed better, notwithftanding its extreme hardnefs
renders it very difficult to be wrought; and tho’ it cannot, as fome
pretend, to vie in whitenefs with that of Carrara in Italy, or in
finenefs with that of Sicily and Egypt. The chief marble-quar-
ries hitherto opened in this diocefe, and their feveral kinds, are as
follows : y? |

Account of _ I. Hopeholm, not far from Bergen, produces marble ofa good
the puncipa! white, likewife blue and white, alfo a greenifh kind, with ted —
ftreaks. : | | | Mes,
2. Wikenefs in Storoe, fix Norway-miles fouth of Bergen.
The marble of this quarry is red and white, very fine and {olid, -
but very difficult to be hewn into fquares; likewife white in-
termixed with green with fulphur-coloured veins, a kind of grey
and white jafper; green, with red ftreaks of agate; laftly, black
and white ; all very difficult to the workman. iy ae
3. Mufterhaven, feven Norway-miles fouth of Bergen, not far
from the noted high mountain Siggen. This quarry yields blue
matble with white ftreaks, dark blue with the like variegation,

er ccn

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

ereen with greyith veins, likewife an azure marble. ‘This is eafier
to the chiffel than in moft places *. |

4. Salthellen, four Norway-miles from Bergen, affords a white
marble, and eafily wrought, but is not fo firm as that of Hope-
holm, and breaks into longifh blocks; it alfo affords a grey and
white, likewife a dark grey ftreaked with white.

5. Hillebrud, feven Norway-miles from Bergen, the marble
of this. quarry is white, with a yellowifh tinge; it likewife pro-
duces a light-blue and white, both kinds very compleat, and in
large blocks. | 7
_ 6, Stourfoen-quarry, one of our miles from the monaftery of
‘Halfnoe, yields black-marble ftudded with white fpots, and its
blocks are large and compact. |

7. Selloe, on the other fide of this monaftery, produces blue
and white marble, in larger blocks than are to be met with any
where. .

- To this tribe of {tones belongs likewife the touch-ftone, Lapis-
lydius, being a kind of black-marble; alfo alabafter, which I have
met with in my journey to Sundmoer, near Borgenfund, but of a
greyifh caft, and only in {mall pieces, lying as an infufed.adven-
titious matter betwixt the {trata of hard pebbles ; by the peafants
it is called Hejetel, under which name I have already {poke of it in
the 2d chapter, concerning the origin of mountains. Under this
{fpecies may alfo be comprehended the feveral kinds of {par, or
other fhining ftones, like what is called Katzenfilber, which are
eafily reducible to a white powder, as are the chalk-ftone, ce-

ment-ftone, and ftucco-{tone, to which ufe likewife the ftri@ures °

of marble, which fly off in the quarries are applied.
Ss ed Wie ab

_ Sandftone is found in feveral places, of a clear and dark
yellow and brown, of a fine and coarfe grain, and is ufed either
for building or for grind-{tones, which laft are in greateft perfec-
tion at Hedemark; but on account of the fituation, the expor-
tation of them is difficult, tho’ confiderable quantities are brought
* T was lately prefented with a piece Hoh this quarry, in which red, green, and

white veins were intermixed, in a more beautiful manner than any I had ever feen ;

ths only defect is the foftnefs of the green veins, which hinders a perfect polith.
ca | to

165

gr cys Sand-ftones.

166

Miull-ftone.

Baking-ftone,

Slate.

NATURAL HISTORY) of VORWAY.
to Skeen, and. from thence carried abroad. The parifh of Odde

in Hardanger, affords as fine and firm fand-ftones as ever I faw,

but not in any great quantities. I have been lately informed, that
in the parifh of Nordal. in Sundmoer; there are. large mountains
entirely confifting of yellow and red fand-ftones. | |

Mill-ftone, which indeed is but another fort of fand, confifting -
of groffer fubftances, but the texture thereof is both more com-
pact and {mooth ; is spn from Guldbrandidale, Syndford,
and other places. -

Hardanger likewife sea: the bel Bagftcheller, ; ie. Bakino-
ftone, a flat thin and {mooth ftone, which being rounded,
bread is baked on them, which is dikewife done on iron plates.
Thefe flat and thin ftones likewife begin to be ufed for covering
houfes and churches, ‘as flate is in other places.

This in fome parts is found in fuch prodigious plenty, that not
only the whole ground on which the city of Chriftiania ftands,_
but the adjacent’ country is little elfe than flate, Collaa lapis fi
filis, {plittine into laminz; or contifting of a fucceflion of lami-
nous ftrata. But hereabouts the pieces are fo fmall, as not to be
applicable to any particular ufe; nor have coals been found under

_ it either here or elfewhere, as was fuppofed ; from the fimilarity

of the fubftances, and the black loom intermixed with it being
fomewhat like coal, befides the ciccumftance of its fplitting 4 in
the fame manner as coal.

S-E CT. a,

_Veeg-fteen (foft or Talc-ftone ) both light and loan and the
fineft forts of it otherwife called Talkftcin, Grytitein, and by fome
Blodgryte and Cloverftein, being very foft and eafy to be cut,
hewn, or fawed, are to be found almoft throughout this and all
other provinces of Norway, but not every where in fuch large
pieces as at Stavenger, and the lordfhip of Sunderhord, from
whence fome fhiploads were lately carried for the palace at Co-
penhagen * , and the late famous and ftately cathedral of Dront-

* The Talkftein is fometimes found in and along with the hardeft penile: -ftone.
Near Malmanger is a deep cavern in a mountain, now almoft exhaufted, but for-
merly full of it. This corroborates what I have before faid, De folido intra folidum,
and fhews the probability that all lapidious mafles were ‘formerly ie and inter-

mixed.
. 2 fleim

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 167
heim was faid to be built of this ftorie, as I have here found fe-
veral churches, and other buildings of the fame. This ftone does
not confift of fand or loomy particles, but of a fine flimy com-
pact fubftance, which may be pulverized, when it thines like
foap or tallow, but in the air becomes porous, and lofes it glofs,

- as I have obferved on the outfides of old churches, which, by
length of time, looks as if they had been built of pumice-ftone ;
this ftone however is almoft imperifhable, even in fire, and on that
account is by fome ufed for hearths, ovens, and beacons. In Gul-
brandfdale, cups, pans, pots and kettles, to the bignefs of half a”
tun are made of it, as veffels of this kind not only retain the heat,
but according to Bromel, give a better tafte to what is boiled Rar Ge:
therein, than utenfils of any other fubftance. Of the dark green 2 P. 26.
Talc, which is likewife ufed for cafting variety of figures ;
I have feen images, and other kinds of fculpture, with as fine a
polifh, and in every refpea as fightly, as if of marble or {erpen-
tine, yet the latter would have taken up thrice the labour and
time ; for the Talc-ftone, efpecially of a good kind, is worked
much eafier than wood itfelf, Near Stavenger, is foundakind -
of Talc-ftone, of fuch a whitenefs, that it is begun to be ufed
_ there for powder, as it may be pulverized to an impalpable fine-
nefs; and I am inclined to think it would fucceed better in paint-
ing than cerufe. I alfo recollect to.have read, if I miftake not, in
‘Tavernier, that the principal perfons in Armenia, make ufe of a
white fhining Talc-ftone for painting, and as it were laquering
their beft apartments, and this Talc feems to be of the kind in
queftion. Of the powder of Talc-ftone, which is like to the fineft
foap, and Talc-oil, an ointment is made for rendering the fkin
_clofe and f{mooth. The Mufeum Wolmianum mentions a kind of
Norway Talc, with gold veins, but this muft be extremely
{carce. roi |

Bere ae) Hz.

In the iron-mines near Kongfberg and Skeen, and likewife in The magnet,
fome other places, is found that wonderful fubftance called the % 974
magnet, or loadftone, and in fuch quantities, that fome tuns of it
are exported, efpecially to Amfterdam. Ol. Worm, beftows on
the northern loadftone, the epithet of Viribus infignem, what

Peeves, : Xx x might

ae NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

might further be faid on it does not belong to this place; I there-
fore proceed to infert what little I know of the lapis fuillus, or
{wine's ftone, a production peculiar to Norway and Sweden. It
derives its name from its efficacy in the orafiuke, a diftemper in-
cident to fwine; it is alfo with as good reafon by fome called la-
pis faetidus, as when rubbed againft any fubftance, it emits a nau-
feous fmell, The nature and texture of its parts is vitrious, nearly
like the cryftal; it iikewife fhines, but is brown, with a large mix-
ture of fulphur, which may be the caufe of its fetid {mell. In
an ifland in Great Mios upon Hedemark, are whole mountains
of this ftone, which when galloped upon. by fhod horfes emit a
violent ftench.

cat tes bie: Sian 'g

ieee” That the amianthus or atbeftos, which makes an incumbuftible
© Finnen or paper, is to-be found in the parifh of Waldens, I can
affirm from my own experience on this occafion; I had fent for
fome famples of that wood, which was faid to be petrified by a
certain water before-mentioned: Accordingly a large parcel of it
was fent to me, and at firft I could have compared it only to —
hazle, which had lain a long time in the water, but upon a nar-
rower infpetion, and drawing out fome of the filaments, I found
it was no petrified fubftance, but an amianthus, and far finer
than the Greenland ftone-flax, which the Rev. Mr. Egede, in his
account of his miffion, relates to be there ufed as wicks in the
lamps, without being in the leaft wafted whilft fupplied with oil
or fat: This Sundmoer amianthus which is produced i in a moun-
tain in Birkdalfwamp, deferves like that of Siberia, and even bet-
ter, to be called ftone-filk, rather than ftone-flax, its fibres being
both fofter and finer; I alfo made a wick for a lamp of it, and
it was not confumed, but its light being much dimmer than that —
ef cotton, I laid it afide. I have alfo in my pofleflion a piece of
‘paper of this afbeftos, which when thrown into a fierce fire is not
in. the leaft wafted, excepting only that what was written on it
totally difappears. The manner of preparing this ftone-flk, or
ftone-flax is briefly this; the ftone after being foftened in water,

is beaten with a moderate force, till the fibres, or long threads
feparate from each other, afterwards they are carefully, and re-

peatedly

< fe
SD eS

re ate

AE!

CHP Toney

f MM <
pela The rn,
er CUR ie

‘

+ PDA

Lop? Ud LOL

.

he
;

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 169°
peatedly wafhed till cleared of all teréne particles; then the flax
is dried in a fieve that the water may run off the fooner; all that
remains now, ‘is to {pin thefe fine filaments, wherein great care is
required, befides which, the fingers muft be foftened with oil,
that they may be the more fupple and pliant. That Kircher and_
others fhould have miftaken this ftone for the alumen plumofuni .
*, and imagined it to be an allum fire-proof; appears hardly pro=
bable, efpecially as allum has a very acrimonious and_peciliag
tafte, which this ftone is fo far from having, that it is as void of

tafte as any other {tone can poflibly be:
S EC Ti VIL

A phyfical fingularity here, is, that a country this abounding No ints.
in ftones has no flints, fo that thofe ufed in fire arms are imported
from Denmark, or Germany. In all my circuits, I have never
_feen a flint-ftone in Norway, and all whom I have enquired of
agree that if there are any, they never have been difcovered: But
on the other hand, the mineral mountains produce a kind of PY- pire.
rites or fire-ftone, namely, the quartz, as it is called, which ato quartz,
firft fight refembles the before-mentioned fpar, or fuch glittering
vitrious ftones; but that it is of a different kind appears from
hence, that in the fire it is not reduced to lime or ftucco as thofe
are; but becomes fluid, and is therefore ufed in the glafs-houfes,

SECT. VII.

This quartz or marcafia, is of very near affinity to the N orway Cryftal
cryftal, of which there are great quantities both here and in the Pl +s-
_ other provinces, and of a larger fize than moft of thofe in Swit-
zetland, Bohemia, and other parts.. ‘The mountains are the pro-
per native place of the cryftals, which fometimes are feen fut.
pended on them, and glitter in the fun to the amazement of
ftrangers; but thefe are liable to be wafhed away into. the rivers,
and from thence into the lakes; and this is the only way I-can’
account for cryftal being found in the great mios, as it certainly
is. Mr. Peter Underlin in his topography of Norway, mentions

* Dico itaque hunc lapidem effe compofitum ex certa aluminis feu talci fpecie, ut.

proinde eum multi alumen {ciffile aut alumen plume nominandum putarint, eft enitr
multo mollioribus filamentis etc. Mund. Geet Lib. VIII. Seé. nigees haya

3 | his

E70

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWHY

his having a piece of cryftal as a very extraordinary curiofity, of
four ounces weight taken: from thence, but this is trifling in com-
parifon with a piece found in Hardanger, and now in my hands,
which is within an ounce of five pounds in weight, twelve inches
in length, and feven in thicknefs, and I never faw fo large a fruf-
tum of the angular and conical kind, tho’ it muft have been
larger, with little projections from its fides, which the former
owner confeffes he broke off for prefents, fo that now there re-

main only four uniform angles; but two of them have fince had

the fate of the former. - I have feveral {maller pieces of an hexa-
gon figure, with the extremity terminating in a point *; thefe
regular, fexangular, and conical cryftals are by our peafants called
duergnagler, dwarfs-nails, from an old notion, that thefe were
nails which the dwarfs, who, they imagine, formerly dwelt in the
mountains, threw away as quite unneceflary to them, as being
without heads. But the general name for the cryftals here are
biergdraaber, mountain-drops, which name correfponds with the
accounts of the naturalitts of the origin of cryftals, and happily
exprefles that fort which hang on the mountains, in the {hape of
grapes, or other indeterminate figures. On the other hand, I
know from experience, the afore-mention’d. long and regular
pieces, which are all fexangular, are generated in a chalky porous
ftone, in fhape like a drop-ftone, having a piece of it which was
found in a mountain, near the parifh of Forde in this province of
Sundfiord; this.is a little larger than a hand, though twice as
thick, but filled both longitudinally and tranfverfally with thefe
minute prifmatic cryftals, hundreds of them projecting, as if
drawn through with a larding-pin; fo that I place a great value

* How this moifture of the quartz, or marcafia, dropping from the mountains be-
comes indurated, and in time produces a vitrifaction or cryftalization, is in fome
meafure illuftrated by J. Fr. Henken, in his pyrotoligy, chapter 5. page 354. and
likewife the caufe of its hexagon figure, in the manner of the faline rays, ibid. p. 362.
Likewife Kircher, in Mundo fubterr. Lib. VIII. Sect. 1. p. 25. Aét. Societ. Hafn.
Tom. III. p. 281. Jueibnitz Protog. Sect. XXVIII. p. 44. Within thefe mountain-
drops, is fometimes inclofed another heterogenous fubftance fhining like filver, and
by the ignorant thought to be fo. I have fome fuch pieces, which I accounted firft
rare curiofities, till a more experienced friend of mine fhewed me, that'upon being
rubbed or pulverized their luftre vanifhed, and the fuppofed filver turned into a ter-
rene fediment. Argenti flores appellant fodinarum magiftri, albas euttulas, que cry{-
tallis atque mineris infident et quafi fementum effent argenti, apud eorum nonnullos
maximam habent eftimationem etiam raritatis titulo. _Quamvis autem haberi et effe

forfan poffint inchoamentum argenti, nondum tamen id penitus obfervationes perfua-
dere voluerunt. Aloyf, Com. Marfili. Danub. Panon. T. III. page 168.

3 upon

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
upon this piece of ftone, as a manifeft mother of cryftal *. . Were
it not for the yellowith caft, too common in thefe northern cryf
tals, like thofe of Bohemia, and Hungary, they might juftly de-
ferve the appellation of Norway-diamonds, which Mr. Arent Be=
rendfen confers on them; for the original efience and forthation
of the diamond, namely, a filtrated, vitrified, denfe, indurated
mineral juice is likewife that of thefe cryftals, the whole difference
being, that the filtration here is lefs perfect. - It appears, however;
that as nature in other things fometimes deviates from her general

rule, working either more delicately or coarfely than ufual, fe—

the northern cryftals may be accounted fuch deviations, from her
general rule in the formation of diamonds, or Norway mountain-
drops. A certain officer of reputation of the diftri@ of Hardan-
ger, a few years ago fent to London two ftones found there, in
order to have them made into a pair of ear-rings for his lady.
When the merchant to whom he had given this commiffion,
called upon the lapidary for them, he was afked what he looked
upon thofe ftones to be, the merchant anfwered, N orway-cryftals,
then replied the lapidary, give me a note of hand that they thal
not be.pafied for real diamonds, which the merchant very readily
did. I mention this little ftory, partly to fhew quantum eft in rebus
inane, and how, in matters which are highly eftimated)) and fome-
times deferve fo to be, the world is more governed by imagina~
tion than reality, as otherwife there could not be at leaft that

* Cryftallus montana (prout ex pluribus obfervationibus feliciter didicimus) non
eft aliud quam ramificatio few propagatio duriffimi filicis, quartz, la¢tei {zepiuscolotis
ac opaci, cujus dorfum fi compluribus compreffum ftratis, interius tamen aliquid va-
cui fortiatur, intra quod libere valeat in ramulos propagari, tunc generatur cryftallus
(non vero ex aqua gelu in montibus vehementiore concreta, (ut Plinius, Seneca alii-
que non pauci tradiderunt.) Quod fi cinnabris effluvia ipfius fefe commifceant vegeta-
tioni (quod nobis plerumique videre: contigit in argentifodinis) tune eidem amethyfti
colorem non tam rar impertiunt.. Et rem fane verofimiliter fic fe habere, per Hel-
veticas Alpes ad montem S. Gotthardi, anno 1682, itér facientes amplius intelleximus
ac edocti fumus ibi-a fofforibus cryftallos eruentibus. Hi fiquidem in pluribus nobis
monftrarunt ventriculum feu cavitatem quandam, cujus parietibus majori ex parte
fubfternebatur filex feu quartz, intra illam cavitatem vegetans, cujus puriores ac tenui-
ores partes filtratione quadam A reliquis fearegate ac fenfim concrefcentes affurgebant
feu diftendebantur in conos-cryftallorum angulares, Aloyf Com. Merfili Danub. Pa-
non. Tom. HI. p. 89. This is further worth obferving, that’as the effluvia of cinnabar
veins in the mountains, by the tinge, which they communicate to cryftals, make ame-
thyfts of them, the turquoife and emerald in the like manner owe their colours to vi.
triol. P. I. page 100. The abfurdity of that opinion. of Pliny, Seneca, and other an-

. cient naturalifts of the formation of cryftal like ice, by an intenfe froft, has been more
than fufficiently expofed by Sir Thos Brown-in his vulgar errors,- Lib. II. Cap. Ee Pe

27m |
Parr I, 'é y | im-

‘a

177i

£72

Marienglas.
Hinglafs.

Granates.

In Litho-
graph. Suec.
P-45-

Page 34.

Amethifts,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORYAY.
immenfe difparity in the price of our native and the Oriental
ftones. I have among my {mall collection of Norway-cryftals; a
piece fo clear and pure, and withal not vitrious, that in the judg-
ment of the connoiffeurs, it might be cut into a very exquifite
jewel *.

Among the Norway-cryftals is alfo reckoned the Marienglas,
Ifinglafs, or Ryfglafs, as it is called here, being moftly found in
Ruffia, where, on account of its tranfparency, it is ufed for win-
dow-paries. ‘This is a particular fpecies of ftone lying in ftrata, or
flakes, or like fo many fheets of paper, and as eafily feparated. I
have a piece of dark red, which is very uncommon, it being gene-
rally clear or greyifh. Wormius, who had never feen any of this
colour, page 56 of his Mufeum, fays, that this Ruflian-glafs is
fometimes found in marble, and fometimes in hexagon figures,
like the above-mentioned mountain-cryftals. ae

one et SP: pero PG

Granates, which derive their name from the fimilarity of their
dark red colour, with that of the kernels of the pomegranets, are
found at Kongfberg, in Gulbranfdale, Ofterdale *, and other parts,
and not feldom inclofed in other maffes of ftone; and Mr. Bro-
mel fays, that in Norway, as Jempteland, many mill-ftones are
mixed with granates, but the few in my poffeffion, or which I fee
elfewhere, and are of the fize of a middling hazle-nut, with
many angles, have no particular luftre, and are foul, or as the
phrafe is, not ripe. Thofe mentioned by Olig Jacobeus, among
the northern curiofities in the Mufeum regium, I fuppofe, make a

better appearance.

Norway amathifts are likewife mentioned there, but with the
addition that they want the hardnefs of the Oriental. The fame
author, page 32, likewife mentions another ftone, which he thus
defcribes, Pyrites aureus teflelatus, maculis purpureis ac hyacinthi-
nis hinc inde diftinGtis ex ofterdalia Norvegie.

* Cryftallos puriores Americanis fuppeditat Norvegia noftra, ut ex fpecimine
tranfmiffo videbis. Ep. Ol. Wormii, Tom. I]. p. 820. 0

+ Reperiuntur etiam Norvegia dodecalatorum impuriores, vena talci plerumque
infecti, colore ad nigredinem tendentes, ut eo primum genus Orientalium zmulart
yvideantur, natura quandoque politi. ‘Tanta magnitudinis mihi unus eft, ut ovum
columbinum fuperet. Crefcunt in vena talci tanta copia, ut ex 11s cum vena fua.jun-

étis, lapides molares conficiant, Ol. Worm. Mut, p, 104.
Hs api pert

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

_ 173

The Ferro-iflands afford plenty of Chalcedonies, but which are Chlcedony.

“not above twice the bignefs of a pea, very feldom reaching that of
a hazel-nut, of which fize I have fome in my colle&tion. The Mu-
feum Womianum, page 98, mentions two of an oblong figure, and
of the bignefs of a man’s thumb, and he alfo {peaks in the follow-
- ing manner of thofe of Iceland: ‘ Chalcedonium iflandicum cri-
{talloidem voco lapidem. Mafia eft unciarum duarum longitudine,
totidem latitudine, qua latior eft. Parte qua cauli adhefit, faxo
conftat albo, duro, cui nigredinis quidpiam permiftum, ex quo
efflorefeit crufta quadam calcedonica, craflitie calami {criptorii:
Hee vero ex fe papillaceas quafdam ftrias protrudit eyufdem fub-
ftantie, externa fuperficie afperas inftar facchari candidi, granulis
minutis micantes. Parte anteriore tres funt papilla, quarum media
_reliquis longior, una reliquis minor, verfus latiorem partem una
duplicata. Omnes hz papilla, ut et corporis ipfius tota fuperficies
fuperior quafi conglaciata eft, fplendentibus granulis cryftallinis af-
pera. Elegans certe eft, a nemine, quod fciam, defcripta.” Of
_ thefe glittering and angular little grains, which are faid to adhere

to the ifland Chalcedonies, there are frequently found deep in the
eatth many white mufcle-fhells, quite full; an indifputable effet
of the deluge; thefe bodies, when liquid, having infinuated them-
{elves into thefe fhells, where they afterwards became indurated;
and I myfelf have fome of this kind in my mufeum.

ik She OF WAS

Agate of feveral kinds are produced here, and I have fome Aga,

pieces of red and yellowifh, which were found in Sundmoer, and
the fame abound in other places. The ground near the parfonage.
of Findaas, is faid to be full of large veins of agate; but generally
fo hard as not to be wrought in any other manner than by grind-
ing. Baron Holberg, in his Prefent State of Denmark and Nor-
way, fays the like of a kind of hard but beautiful jafper, found in
a mountain two Norway miles N. W. of the parfonage of Sille-
jord, of which governor Wibel, in the year 1726, had a fet of
tea-cups made, for a prefent to his majefty Frederic IV.
Among feveral fmall pieces of green jafper, found in the Ferro-
lands; Ol. Wormius mentions the following: ‘* Quedam Turco-
ides, emulantur, quedam Malachites, quedam in matricibus fuis

3 exift-

In Muf.p.g4.

Figurated
ftones.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
exiftentes jucundum difpicientibus prebent {pe€taculum---Inter
jafpides ex infulis Ferroenfibus allatas, reperiuntur etiam jafponi-
ches numero haud exiguo, videtur enim natura in iftis infulis in-
tenta effe, ut onichen viridi colore tingat, verum opus fwum ubi
impedita non abfolvit remanet jafponix, quin et jafpidis capnitis
hic vifuntur {pecimina.’ amt

S. BoC kD Xd.

Of fioured ftones I have feveral, fome of which were found in
Norway, but fhall not enlarge on thefe, as not being peculiar to
the ‘country; yet, I cannot fupprefs the obfervations of a judicious
perfon on-fome {mall circular, and flat ftones, perfeétly {mooth,
and of a mixed fubftance, dark brown, yellow, and grey roundifh
fpecks being blended among one another; but they are‘fometimes
found as big as a hen’s egg, and by the peafants called lofpefteen,
loofening-ftones, from their opinion, that they are beneficial to .
women in hard labours. They alfo pretend, that this ftone is
the fuppofed thunderbolt, it being found where the lightning has
penetrated, and as it were plowed up a furrow on the mountains.
I leave this without any comment, yet I beg leave to infert the
words of the above-mentioned perfon, Mr. Fred. Arndtz, fuper-
intendant at Sundfiord, and minifter at Itfkevold, in a letter to me;
of the 22d of September, 1750. ao

“‘ My Lord, I take the liberty to fend you in the box which comes
along with this, a fmall ftone lately come into my hands, and of

_ which, Lown the curiofity to confift only in the account which the
° peafants have given me of it. They fay, that the thunder darts

down fuch ftones, aiming them at the Troll (a kind of witches, or
infernal {pirits of the night) who otherwife would deftroy the whole
world, and it makes ufe of thefe ftones for bullets. The reafon on
which they attribute thefe {tones to the thunder, is, that they are
commonly found in thofe places, where the earth has been torn
up by a violent thunder-clap;. the ufual fize of this {tone is like
that before you, though the largeft, both in figure and dimenfions,
entirely refemble a hen’s egg. That the thunder tears up the
earth into a kind of long furrows is very certain. I have feen it
myfelf here in Sundfiord, and in fuch furrows. thefe ftones are
found: this the people affirm very pofitively, offering feveral in-

a {tances
3

NAUTRAL HISTORY of VORWAY..

» ‘ftances in proof of it. Jam aware, that all that is faid of thee
thunder-ftones, is by many looked upon as mere fables, and I
~myfelf cannot entirely come into many of thefe traditions; as that
in a violent tempeft, thefe ftones have ftruck againft a fhip’s fail
and dropped down upon the deck, or that a woman who was at
work at her quilting-frame, when the whole houfe was fuddenly
deftroyed by a clap of thunder, but fhe not in the leaft hurt,
found fuch a fmall ftone lying on her frame. However fome
‘maintain the truth of thefe things, and have not the courage to
‘refufe hiftorical credit to accounts of this nature, and indeed they
are not entirely deftitute of all verifimi litude, if the production
-of the ftone be confidered, its primordial element being a dlimy
‘water, mixed with matter and infpiflated by fire, whence a petri-
fying juice. The {tucco works are fuppofed to afford a fpecimen
of fuch a mixture, which are fomewhat hardened by the infufion
of a {mall quantity of water, but by the infufion of oil acquire
the folidity of ftone. That fuch a materia lenta et vilcofa may
afcend into the air is undeniable; that the lightening may have
very wonderful effects in the atmofphere muft alfo be granted,
and that a folid comprefled body by its own gravity defcends is
natural. But there feems, notwithftanding, lefs difficulty to com-
prehend the thunder-ftones formation in the earth for the won-
derful force of thunder, of which there are fo many inconteftible
evidences, and of which I miytelf have feen fome in the bayliff’s houfe
at Turre, fhould eafily induce us to fubfcribe to the following
words of a learned man, Radios fulminares terram penetrantes,
arenam, quam forte offendunt, in talem aliquam maflam lapide-
am per vitrificationem quandam colligere. I fufpend my judg-
ment herein, and only add, agreeably to my defien, that this {tone
is by the peafants called laafnefteine, i. e. loofening-ftone, from
the effects attributed to it; for the women, and efpecially the old
nurfes, imagine this ftone to be fomething exceeding facred; and
it is with great difficulty they can be brought fo much as to fhew
it, much lefs to part with it; from their perfuafion, that beer
drawn in a cup with this ftone in it, being given to a woman
in labour, facilitates the delivery; or as the peafants phrafe is,
dzlaafne, i. e. the foetus is loofened, folvitur vinculum rumpitur,”
So far this letter. | ‘

Parr I. LL & The

175

176 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUY.

Thunder-
ftones.

The ceraunei lapide, thunderbolts, which were formerly ac=

- counted thunder-ftones, are now unanimoufly allowed to be ftones

artificially wrought into axes, hammers, wedges, and knives,
which in the heathenifh times were ufed at fuch facrifices, as, ac-
cording to their fuperftition, did not admit the ufe of a tool, or
inftrument of any other fubftance; they are found both here and
in Denmark, and chiefly on fuch eminences as were appointed for
facrificing. I have them of different fubftances, colour, faze, and
fioure. The laft has the flrongeft marks of being the work of
.art and not a natural form, efpecially in thofe which have a cir-
cular hole where the handle or grafp was inferted.

Ragle-ftone. Acetites, or the eagle-ftone, is found here as in other parts in
the nefts of eagles, who, probably, lay it there, to moderate the
violent heat exhaling from the breaft of the dam, the eagle being
a bird of extreme heat. They are generally of a dark yellow,
oblong, and conical at both ends. I have one, which when
fhook, rattles, fome folid body unqueftionably being inclofed

Mefeurs, therein. Of the feveral virtues afcribed to it, Ol. Wormius dif-

P78. courfes more than becomes him, fancy and fuperftition having in

my opinion the greateft fhare in them.

SECT. XII

Stones plaine 1 fhall now in a few words mention fome pieces of {tone in my
Jy fhewing collection, which at firft fight confirm what I have before faid on
fiance to be the origin of rocks, namely, that the fubftance of marble, and of
but faddenly the moft denfe and folid ftones were formerly, and probably at the
Plate 15. time of the deluge, foft and fluid, but afterwards coagulated or
fubfided into their prefent fituation, like metals after fufion. Of
this I fay, four pieces of ftone are palpable proofs; the firft has
very much the appearance of a {mall parcel of hog’s-briftles, with
their thick ends inverted againft each other, and with a ftraight-
nefs which fhews the rapidity of their fuid motion, this piece is
white; the fecond piece is a connexion of feyeral very remarkable _

I gure

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

' gure in an oppofite essa: comprefled together like rays. In
the fiffures are fome fmall {parks of metal. The fourth piece
has coalefced into the roundifhnefs of a cake, and is compofed of
many circles, gradually contraGing themfelves, and proceeding
one from the other to the center, fo that the laft motion of the
matter of this {tone mutt have been circular; this ftone is dark
re
‘ The different fhapes of thefe lapidious fubftances, by cafual al-

terations, remind me of a particular in Ofterdale in the mountain

17]

of Svuku, on the borders of Sweden, which never fails to excite remarkable

the admiration of the curious, and it may juitly be looked upon
as one of the moft fingular monuments of the deluge. Mr. Dan-?
tilas gives a good account of it in a memoir which he read in the
year 1742, before the royal academy of {ciences in Sweden, and
has fince been publifhed, of which the following is an extrac,

« The higheft creft of the mountain of Svuku in Oefterdalen, a

- province of Norway, lies, according to a furvey taken by the ba-
rometer, above two thoufand ells higher than the lake of Famund,

a water betwixt the mountains. This mount confifts of one folid,

hard fand-ftone; on the top of the mountain ftands a folid huge
_ mais of the fame ftone, which bears in it many marks of a diflo-
lution and difruption, which can be attributed to nothing but
water. For at the foot of this mafs, yet on the fummit of the
mountain towards the fouth, are feveral parallel channels, three
or four fingers deep, and of the like breadth, which at laft meet ;

they appear to be the work of fome miner, but upon viewing
them on the fummit, the moft manifeft indications fhew eon
felves, as if the water had cut itfelf'a paflage along fome heaps of
clay, fo that unqueftionably the true caufe of this fingularity i is to
be fought i in the impetus and agitation of the waters.

Svuku.

figure of a
ftone on the
mountain of

178 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

CHAP. VIL
Of the Metals and Minerals in N orway.

Sect. 1. Of the mines in general. Sucr. Il. Several gold-mines formerly
opened, but difcontinued. Sect. II. Silver-mines of more ancient times.
Sect. IV. The prefent flourifhing filver-works at Kongfberg. Sect. V. The
Sitocr-works at Farlifberg. Secv.VI. Copper-works at Noraas. Srct.VIl. The
like at Meldel, or Lykken. Secr. VIII. Alo at Einfett, or Quikne.
Sect. IX. Af Selboe. Sucr. X. At Fongdal. Sect. XI. In Aardal, and
Ocdal. Sucr. XII. Of Norway-iron in general. Sucr. XII. Account of
feveral iron-works. Sect. XIV. Some lead-mines. Sect. XV. Quich-
fiver. Suct. XVI. Sulphur. Srecr. XVII. Sak. Secr. XVII. Vitriol,
Sect. XIX. Alum. Sect. XX. Oaker, and feveral other kinds of dyes.

S Ex GaDy a1,

Of the miges HAT the lapideous kingdom, in Norway, contains a vaft
ear treafure of metals and minerals, is not unknown, efpeci-
ally in this century, when the breaking, removal, and fufion of
the filver, copper, iron, and lead, efpecially in the diocefes of Ag-
gerhuus and Drontheim, employ many thoufand hands, befides
‘the great profits accruing from them to the proprietors, or fharers,
exclufive alfo of the advantages to the peafants and other land-
men by burning charcoal, and bringing it to the founderies be-
longing to thofe mines. That the ufe and advantage of the Nor-
way fubterraneous treafures, has been fo greatly improved within
the laft hundred years, that the produce has been doubled, is un-
queftionable, and what. further profperity it fhall pleafe provi-
dence to grant to the minors, for their dire@tion and continual
progrefs in thefe dark fubterraneous tracts, where the guidance of
-an all-wife hand is as fenfibly requifite, as in any undertaking
whatever, muft be left to him, whofe providence in its own time,
diftributes to every generation thofe bleflings, or eftablifhes its
welfare on thofe things of which it ftands moft in need; and
there is not a more ftriking inftance than this, of the fuperintend-
ing wifdom, and ceconomical goodnefs of God, throughout the
whole fyftem of nature. I know not what account to make of
Paracelfus’s pompous prediction of a golded age to the northern
countries, affirming that betwixt the fixtieth and feventieth de-
eree of northern latitude, time fhould difplay a ftore of wealth
I 7 | | in

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

in metals, fuperior to all the treafures that ever the eaft af-
forded *. |
SiG Er Ti,

Should time verify this prediction, the generation then in being
mutt conftrue it an accomplifhment of the words of Job, xxxvii. 2.
from the north cometh gold; for in the year 1697, when, although
prematurely, Paracelfus’s golden age was thought to be at hand,
a golden mine being difcovered, the abovementioned words were

the impreffion on one fide of the ducats, with the image of Chri-
ftian V. on the other. The number of them however was incon-

fiderable, the mine foon failing, but in finenefs the gold was

equal to that of Hungary. And fometime before, namely in 1644,
and 164.5, Mr. Berenfen relates, page 274, that near Aggefide, or
in the diocefe of Chriftianfand, on the eftate of Mr. Chriftopher
Gios, gold ore was found +, from which thofe ducats were ftruck,
which the foreigners would by no means believe to be of Norway-
gold, from a falfe prepoffeffion that Norway afforded no fuch
precious metal. However, Chriftian IV. to avoid the charge of
an oftentatious parade, in decking himfelf with foreign feathers,
in the year 1647, ordered other ducats to be ftruck of the fame
gold, which were called Speétacle-ducats,. the reverfe of them
being a pair of fpectacles with this legend, Vide mira domi ¢.

The

* I cannot fpecify the place in his writings, having only met with it in Scaffer’s
Lapland, quoted from Turneus, and it is repeated by Mr. Peter Hogftrom, in his
Defcription of Lapland.

tT Anno 1644, Nobiliff’ D. Jo. Sigfrid de Lutichau, rei metallic in Norv. Pree-

- fectus generalis, minera auri invenit in tratu Nedenecenfi prope portum Arndalen- ©

fem et curiam Barlo, nigram talcofam, frequentibus fplendentem micis, in cujus
bonitatem cum inquifiviffet, invenit pondo centenarium ejus minere prebere auri
puri marcas triginta octo, et infuper centum quadraginta fex marcas argenti.—Ali-
am alterius venz maflam Anno 1646, que ignibus depurata, ex libra una, auri
puri dedit drachmas fex, praefente Reg. M. fruftrum quod teneo minutioribus {plen-
det micis et priori magis ad rubidinem vergit. Adduéte funt ex eodem loco mi-
nere talcofee itidem ex frequentibus granatis pragnantes, quas auro fcatere multi
exiftimant. Hanc mineram Anno 1646, Regi ipfi detexit rufticus quidam Gammel
Grodewyn, 1. e. old Grodewyn, dictus. Sita fodina eft ad portum Marede dictum
(this muft be Mardoe) extraétu Nidrofienfi lapis quidam arenofus aureis fcatens
{cintillis et granulis minutis, mihi allitus et talci aurei nigrefcentis {quamule, ex
quibus aurum erui volunt. In argentifodinis Norv. prope Regiomontum putens
Brunfwig dictus, aurum prebet, refert namque D, Normand, quod A. 1630, d. 3.
April. 7, marcz et fex uncie cum dimidia, auri unciam femis obtenuerit. Ol. Worm.
in Mulzo, page 115.

+ Thete are, doubtlefs, the gold-mines meant by Olig. Jacobeus in his Mufeum
Regium, p. 31, Minera due auri e fodinis Norveg. quarum una intermixtam fibi.

Parr I, FY. aa haber ~

179

186

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

The before quoted authentic writer Mr. A. Berendfen, in the fame
place, fays, that a large {pecimen of the gold ore found on the
fide of Agde, being fent to Copenhagen, the conclufion was, that
it would barely anfwer the expence of working it; upon which
it was difcontinued. The like may be faid of that {mall mixture
of gold, which is often feen, not only in the Norway-filver, but
even in the copper. The charges of {eparating and refining it,
leaving no profpect of further advantage; and therefore the work
is neglected. However, my fubje@ being rather the nature of
things than the benefits of them, I muft here take the liberty to
contradict a writer, in other refpedts of the higheft merit, I mean
the celebrated Aleyfius, Count Marfilli, whofe works have gained
him fuch an extenfive reputation, who fays, that hungary is the
only country where filver is found intermixed with gold ; of
which our miners know the contrary *.

SEC T. IL

As to the northern filver-mines, which are unqueftionably one
of the ereateft diftinGions of this country, I muft premife, that
exclufive of thofe at prefent in work, namely, Konfberg and Jarl-
fberg, fome were found formerly, and more of late, but have not

been rightly fearched, or the working of them has been difcon-

habet materiam, que quartzum metallurgis appellatur, altera pyritis {peciem, qua
kies vulgo dicitur, A. 1644, rei metallica in Norvegia preefectus mineram quoque
auri in tractu Necnecenfi (this muft be Nedenecenfi ) prope portam Arndalenfem
invenit nigram et talcofam referente Wormio. Here I add, from good information,
that fome years fince, perfons fkilled in mining, were by his majefty’s order fent to
Finmark to examine into the truth of a report, that the river, otherwife famous for
its falmon-fifhery, had a kind of gold-fand at its bottom like the Niger in Africa ;
but it was found to be a miltake, this f{uppofed gold being only particles of fulphur,
of a good luftre, but of no value. But about two years ago, a confiderable quan-
tity of little bits of gold were found near the diftri¢t of Salten, in Nordland, among
a heap of ftones near Konf{viig, formerly the palace of a petty prince; this having
been magnified by report, orders were given for further fearch, but thefe were alfo
found not to be of the natural produce of that fpot where they were found, nor of
any other in this country, but had been left there, fome ages fince, by the inhabitants
in thofe times; for they were little golden images, but made with a more than Go-
thic fimplicity, unqueftionably like the Simulacra aurea Bornholmenfia, treated of
by Jacob von Mellen, and Chriftopher Democritus, three fuch pieces are in my
pofleffion; the gold is not the beft, and the figures are thin lamine, with golden
images on them, one is of about the bignefs of a finger’s joint, another bigger, and
the third lefs, the firft, has on the upperpart, a wheel with a ring in it. A

* Hac igitur gaudet prerogativa Hungariz regnum, quod {cilicet in tot regioni-
bus, nempe Bohemia, Saxoniis aliifve feptentrionalibus locis argentum folummodo,
non vero nobili focietate iftuis metalli (de auro fermo eft) locupletatur. Secus vero .
in Hungaria. Danub. Panon. Myfic. Tom. II. p. 107.

I | | tinued.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tinued. Of this kind are the feveral old mines in upper Telle-
_imark, long over-grown with mofs and grafs, but which were
formerly wrought in the fame manner. as thofe of Kongtberg.
They are mentioned by Baron Holberg, in his prefent fate of
Denmark and Norway, and as he is of opinion that they are of
very ancient date, he expreffes fome furprize, that not the leaft
mention is made of them by hiftorians, fince by their remains,
they appear to have been a work of vaft charge and extent, per-
haps not inferior to any of the filver-works in Kongfberg. This

complaint of the Baron’s is the more excufeable, as at the firft

publication of his book, the Annales Nic. Krageei, which had long
fain dormant, had not yet feen the light, but there he would
have feen that thefe deferted mines were of no longer ftanding
than the reign of Chriftian III. and worked at the expence of
that monarch ; but the Norway-peafants raifing a tumult acainft
the Saxon miners, to whofe command they would not fub-
mit, as fpeaking a foreign tongue, for which fome were capitally
punifhed; and likewife on account of the foods which broke out
from the caverns, this work was foon deferted, at a very great
lofs. ‘The words of the aforefaid Nic. Kraggei, concerning this
affair, in his Vita Chrift. III. in Annal. ad A. 1 539 Pp. 204, are
as follows: ‘* Coeptum erat fuperiore anno in Tilemarchia, pro-
vincia Norvegie, e vifceribus terre, argenti, cupri et plumbi me-
talla eruere, ac probata materia, EleGori Saxonie aliifque ejus rei
peritis, ad quem fuper hoc negotium aliquoties Scriptum, magna
fpe arceffitee ex Mifnia opera, mandata cura et infpetio primum
fligoto Baggoni, inde Antonio Brufchio, moderatore operarum
Johanne Glaffone, ac immunitates indulte, prout in fodinis mif.
nicis tum jura condita, quibus opere regerentur. Nihilominus ta-
men ile rufticis abutentes infolentius agebant. Eo magis dolebat
miferis, quod preter folitum onera'imponerentur, nullo emolu.
mento: Sintul quia res erat cum hominibus, quibufcum nullo lin-
gue comimercio tam brevi familiaritas intercedere potuit, alienatj
magis anu. Itaque coierunt aliqui paroeciarum ruftici, ut ope-
rantes aut affligerent, aut iis locis expellerent. Sed petulantia ip-
forum a prefidibus, quos dixi, refrenata. Ac pauci quidam poft

mandato regis, extremo fupplicio affect, reliquis alia mul@a stan
gata, prout quifque culpe affinis, aut A noxa immunis reperieba-

tur,

aSi

182

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tur, quum de fceleris autoribus eft inquifitum. Verum, quum
initia fodinarum laeta fuerint opere pretium, diu tamen non ad-
modum factum. Nam in paucis annis rex fatigatus fumptibus
illi inexhauftis laboribus ceptum diftruere. Caufa ferebatur quod
emanabat tantum aqua a cavernis terre, ut penetrari, quo neceffe
effet, fine fubmergendi periculo non potuerit.

Afterwards, page 282, ad an. 1545, he {peaks of another tu-
mult in oppofition to the oppreffive violations of the liberties of
the peafants on account of the mines. It is poffible that the fame
turbulent fpirit with which at that time, under the pretence of
chriftian liberty, the peafants in Germany were animated to take
arms againft their fuperiors, in their famous ruftic war, might alfo
have fpread its infection here; though nothing certain can be ad-
vanced on this head. |

Formerly, likewife, a filver-mine was worked at Heddemark,
which according to the account of A. Berndfen, in the year 1630,
yielded a ftone of fine filver, and gave hopes of opening more
grooves in that country, but nothing further has been heard of it.
Likewife in Eger, and Telemark, filver-ores have been found
producing eight ounces and a half of pure filver per quintal. Of
other conjectures and reports of filver-ore difcovered in Ryefkelt,
Hardanger, Sundfiord, and other northern provinces, there is no
{peaking pofitively, till they have undergone the examination of
perfons verfed in thofe matters, nothing being more common here
than upon a peafant’s growing fuddenly rich, a whifper flies about
that he has found a rich ore, and conceals it for his own private
profit, though this is generally no more than the fuggeftion of
envy. ‘That near Solein in the manor of Lavigen, on the borders
of Sundfiord, there is a river in which is found the {corie of filver-
ore, I have unqueftionable information from the prefent minifter
there, Mr. Thomas Sommer, in a letter of the 16th of October,
1750, There is likewife a dubious report concerning fuch a river
in Sundmoer, in the parifh of Oerfkoug. An exhaufted filver-
mine in the parifh of Ranen in the government of Helgeland,
has alfo long been talked of, but this was only copper-ore, and fo
poor, as never to requite the charge and labour. However, at
the inland extremity of this diftriét, on the borders of Sweden, is
a mine containing both filver and lead-ore, and difcovered by the
I Swedes

NATURAL HISTORY of MORAY: 83

Swedes in the laft century, but fince, by order of the lord of
Aluen, demolifhed by the Norvegians; not to mention, that from
- its fituation it was difficult to be wrought. Likewife {ome cop-
per-ore has been found with mixtures of filver,’ as that lately dif
covered at Odal, where, in the groove called Langaafen, every
quintal of ore yields fixty or feventy pounds of copper, and four
Ounces of filver intermixed, but lefs in other parts.
©. But without’ dwelling any longer'on thefe, I {hall proceed to
givé an authentic account of the two rich filver-ore works, which’
aré now carrying on, to the vaft advantage of the fovereign and.
community; and thefe are the works of Kongiberg and Jarefbere.
ae era PTs a) et.
\ The firft mine which lies near Sandf{werd in Numedale,: four The prefent
Norway miles from’ Drammen, is, at prefent, to the beft of myinine a
knowlege, the moft confiderable and of the greateft profit: of any ongibers:
in Europe, and in refpe& of pure mafly-filver veins, quite inex-
hauftible, whereas the German filver-ore is in a ereat meafure in-
vifible, and muft-be extracted from the lead and copper, in which
it is concealed. ‘This work began'in the year 1623, and was
difcovered in the following manner 3; two peafants; by name Ja-
cob, and Chriftopher Grofwaltd, attending their cattle on thofe
fteep mountains, which feparate Telemark from Numedal, found)
the firft filver-ore in “fome lapideous fragments fallen from the
mountain, and which by way of paftime they ufed to throw at
one another; when they heard a jingling found! the metallic fub-
fiance it yielded they imagined to be lead, and carrying it home,
attemped to melt it into‘bullets, ‘buttons, and the like, but their
fafion not rightly fucceeding, they fold their ftore to a: eoldfmith
of Tonfberg, who ufed to fell his goods about the country. He
informed the government -of it, and the affair being laid: before
the king, orders -were given for a further farvey of thofe parts,
which was attended with fuch fuccefs, that-at a {mall- diftance
from a church which then ftood there, befides the rich veins of
ftone, a lump of pure mafly filver of a pound weight was found.
- Hereupon Chriftian the fourth, was pleafed to give his name to the
firft groove, and minets were fent for from Germany.’ Thefe
were the firft inhabitants of the new built mine-town of Konef
bias 4 A ~Bbb t berg,

184

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

berg, and the anceftors of the many thoufands at prefent living
there, who in procefs of time mixing with the Norvegians, each
nation to this day performs divine fervice in its own language;
but all are under the direction and government of the college of
miners. ‘This laft however, has been fubjec to feveral changes
and revolutions, the work having been carried on fometimes by a
company of fharers, and fometimes, as at prefent, by the king
alone. _A more particular account of thefe things, as it has no
neceffary relation to my prefent defign, is to be found in Baron
Holberg’s prefent {ttate.of Denmark and Norway; and inftead
thereof, I fhall fubjoin fome phyfical remarks communicated to
me, at my defire, by perfons of unexceptionable knowlege and
judgment. |

The firft method ufed for the difcovery of the mines, was by —

the motion’ of the virgula divinatoria, when it was perpendicular

- over the ore; but this was foon laid afide, as fometimes miflead-

ing the fearchers, and occafioning a fruitlefs labour... They then
followed the way difcovered by the {pringing of the rocks, which
was naturally pointed. out by the {trata of the mountains, and the
ftreaks of the veins. A remarkable particular here, is, that
whereas in Germany, and Bohemia, the ore-f{treaks run north and
fouth, here in Norway their direétion is eaft and weft, except in
that of Gottefgave, which departs from. this rule, -and takes the.
courfe of the foreign mines. Though fome are of a different opi-
nion herein, and affirm, that the fineft veins of ore here are with-
out any order or regularity, fo that they cannot properly be faid
to be of any certain direction. The Kongfberg-ore is likewife
different from the foreign in largenefs, formation, and {olidity,

- for whereas the filver mines in other parts contain fome, though

Veins of
folid filver.
See Plate 16.

but a little filver, and that loofe and difperfed,. the northern
mines, as has been faid, produce mafly lumps or veins, or ftreaks.
In thefe we frequently meet with very curious lufus nature, as
they are called, of feveral fisures; a piece of that of Kongfberg,
which was in my poffeffion, but is now in the royal mufeum,
has fome likenefs to a fhip with mafts and fails; and another
which I {till have, with the help of a little imagination, reprefents
a cock, or fome fuch fowl. Thefe folid lumps of filver, which
are fo far unknown in other parts, that foreigners will believe no

fuch

I

oe,

ga
(geal i
Ff; ri, ins

Miles or? “
jjbit” ;
ae,

Sy .. > ail ee 7 ¥
od J « J $ * ry SK ik iM
a ea Howe STG Wines of use Dvr” Sine” lig
es _ Swe < = = “ur z :

SH

in Ny

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

{uch thing without ocular proof *, being foon interrupted and
dwindling to nothing, the miner muft continue to dig through
the barren rock, till he has the good fortune to find more, which
in one day will reward the labour of a whole month, or even of
fome years, {fo that hope may be faid to be the fpirit of this work,
through fo many interftices, by which the workman muft not be
difcouraged, but perfevere in his fearch in a full perfuafion, that
ore Jeads to ore. Were it not for thefe barren interftices all the
filver-works in Europe together could. not come in competition
with that of Kongfberg, the immenfe riches of which may be in-
ferred from this, that after the difcouragements of a long, fruit-
lefs labour, it fuddenly exhibits feveral thoufand pound weight of
filver, and thus difcharges all arrears and embarraflments, and
animates to further profecution. The labour therefore is never
in vain, not even, when it moft appears fo, for fome thoufands of

hands, who ate employed therein, and of whom a lift thall be-

given in the fequel, always earn their daily fupport. If this were
all the profit, which however is very far from being the cafe, yet
it would not be inconfiderable, for the acquifition of the filver by
which fo many families are maintained, and which thus circulates
all over the country, muft be efteemed a great emolument to the
public. In proof of the large and rich mafles of filver contained
in the mines of Norway, I fhall only obferve, that in the royal
mufeum at Copenhagen, a piece is preferved, which the whole
world cannot produce an equal, its weight being five hundred
and fixty pound, and its value five thoufand rix dollars +, Be-

* Non in omnibus argenti fodinis hoc invenitur, adeo ut, an tale detur, dubitafle
videatur Plinius alique veteres. Non occurrit in Rhetia, Norico, Dacia, fed in qui-
bufdam Mifenz fodinis, licet non in omnibus, et in Norvegia in Regio monte fre-
quentiffime et in magna copia, ut ex inde maffe quandoque exfcindantur pondere ali-
quot centenarum librarum, Ol. Worm. Mufeum, p. 115.

+ Of this mafs of Norway-filver, Olig. Jacobeus in his Mufeum Regium, page 31,
gives the following defcription, Minera ingens argenti ex fodinis Norvegize, pedum
quingue et pollicum fex longitudinem squat, craffitiem vero in circumferentia pedum
quatuor. Anno 1666. d. 24. Augufti ex fodina Norv. Regiomontana, que nove
{pei appellatur vulgo, nye Forhaabnings Grube, extraéta eft 560 librarum pondere, et
a preefecto fodinzs memorate, pretio 7000 imperialium eftimata. Huic non diffimilis
mafia, anno 1630, regnante in Dania divo Chriftiano quarto ex fodina Norvegica que
benedictio divina vulgo, ei Gottes appellatur, eruta eit, que 3272. Imperialium
pretio eitimata; to which I fhall add, that in the year 1719, in the fhaft called Saint
Andrew, was found a piece of pure filver of two hundred and feventy nine pound, as
was in the year 1727, one of two hundred and forty-five pounds, in the mine called
Prince Royal, and in the fame year another weighing three hundred and four pounds
was found in the God’s-bleffing fhaft, thefe foreign miners who have come into thefe
parts, made a difficulty of believing it, till their own eyes Convinced them of the truth.

fides

185

186° NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
fides the eighteen oldeft grooves, the narhes whereof are’ fpecified
by Arnd. Berndfen, more are opened from time to time, but Infhall
here only fet down thofe which are worked. in the prefene: od
ey 51, ea are seal following. |. | |
a In the Grft Rosell

Lift of the .~~
fhafts at pre- .

font worked. Fn Pie Saag ORCA Re GA Tee CHC DOR
“A thaft near old Stad{myhr.
~ Bratte fhaft.

God’s Gift, a mine.

A fhaft near Juftice-dale.

Poors mine. —

Chriftian the fourth’s mine.

God blefs king Frederic, a mine.

God’s help in diftrefs, a mine.
~ Keller, a mine.

Elfe, a mine.

Saxony, a mine.

, In the (esd Revier.

King Frederic the fifth’s mine.
Shaft near the above mine.

Prince Royal’s mine..

Brunfwick mine.

Juel’s mine. —

Old God’s blefling, a mine.

Sophia Magdalena’s mine. -

Prince Chriftian’s mine.

Frederic the fourth’s mine. ©

In ‘tie third Revier!

Samuel’ s. mine. .
Sophia Hedewig’s mine.

_ Firft fhaft at Samuel's mine.
The filver track. |

~ Second fhaft on Samuel’s mine.

Pirft holy Trinity mine, . eigen
¥ | Second —

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
Second holy Trinity mine.
Duke Ulric’s mine.

Old duke Ulric’s mine.

Johannes, a mine.

Firft Concordia mine. ~
Second Concordia mine.

Glory to God alone, a mine.
The Salutation mine. ©.
The Lady Chriftiana mine.

_Firft Solomon’s mine.
Leadftreak mine.
Gravel-mine, at Eger.

In the Fourth Revier.

Chriftian the Sixth’s mine.

~ Queen Sophia Magdalena’s mine.
A fhaft near it.
A fhaft near Lucky-mine.
Princefs Louifa’s mine.
Ulrica’s mine.

A fhaft near it.
Mitlere’s Winchren.
The new God’s bleffing, a mine.
N° 2. ditto. N° 4, 5, and 9, ditto.
Ramberg fhaft. |
Shaft near old Anna Sophia.

OF thefe mines, the beft at prefent are the following :
God’s help in diftrefs.

Samuel’s mine.

Old God's bleffing.

_oPhele have for many years paft yielded great quantities of me- |

tal, but there are among the reft many valuable mines, tho’ not
fo conftant in their breakings as thefe. In the fourth Revier, {e-
ven or eight years ago, the mines of Chriftian VI. and princefs
_Louifa, have yielded very fine filver; but thefe, as of moft of the
mines in the fourth, the richnefs of their breaches has diminifhed

Parr J, - : Cece In

187

188

The deepeft

mines.

4

NATDURDAL AY 6 CORVSNARFAY.

in the progrefs of the warking,: yet they are,catried on with the
ufual diligence, in hopes of their proving better.” rie
It has been found that therfilver-ore is not, 'as was at firft im-
agined, limited to this fingle mountains:whieh lies between the
river Jordal and Kongtberg5: but extends»its veins for fome miles
throughout the adjacent:diftri@s, which isoproved by the new
mines which are fromi:timse to:timbaiidertaken?in feveral places,
and moft of them, by the bleffimgrof ‘Providence’ carried on, very
profperoufly. Old God’s«bleffing,:Ghe'of the moft ancient and
rich among all the mines, which, fometimes, within a week, has
yielded fome hundreds of pounds 6firiehore, never fails to ftrike
the beholder with its aftewifhing deptly-‘beifie no lefs than one
hundred and eighty perpendicular fathoms, and the circumfer-
ence at the bottom forths a-cleat “of fome Hundred fathoms. The
fight of fo many piles of: wood: buiningson, all fides, thirty or forty
in number, in thisngléemy.tavern;andocentinually fed in order
to mollify the ftone, in the profecution; of the mine, feems, ac-
cording to the common idea,, an image, of hell; and the {warms |
of miners buftling about in habits according, te|their feveral oc-
cupations, may well pafs for fo many; devils, efpeciaily, when as
a fignal that a mine is going to be {prung im, this or that courfe,
they roat out, Berg-livet! Berg-lives }>T ake care of your lives !
I fhall here. briefly; zepeat. the words,.of a gentleman well fkilled
in mining, Mri Eman, Suedenborg, injthe preface of his book
called Regnum Subterraneum, where: he fays, of thefe Kongfberg
filver-mines, which are,vifited, by the travelling German-miners,
as a lyceum in their {cience, to which Europe has not an equal;
“ Quid Norvegiz qn’ fodinis Kongfbérgénfibus, ubi jam iper fecu-
lum vix nifi argentum nativum, et femel iterumque etiam aurum, *
tanquam aure melioris progenies, in lucem et diem gelidiflimum
pleniflimo fape cornu prodierat,, cuyus annuum proventum ab
anno 1711, ad 1724. fiftere volupe eft, ut inde miranda nature
phanomena’ in. regno, fubterraneo) exftentia Iuculentius contem-
plari liceat.. Ex illis fodinis du@te funt: argenti- multam /partem
natiyigiva st cio! 4 1. Qhoglp Gy poriassia “ion ig gC
5sniva bos LV on #4 Gy 45 r 21:3 4ORS 2IRTK FARR 19

: - ° Ld ee
Ady ota Adee Bed iy ihoyiay Depry SVE Anne
a) Odes Zuy.& - I 4 ee | Pe SP mK 24 Ade , ‘ ,
" {
d : - . .
. . ; ’ + , , , f ’

NATURAL HISTORY of VORMAY

anal : Thal. Impetf.
Anno 1711, Libre 18483 12 fem. inpretio ; 172144, 66
tes — 15490 Io fem. 3 gr. —— 174157
~~ 7713, ———- 12630 14 fem. 3 gr. wren CK 87
Oh 1714,5°———— 112689 15 fem. 1 gr. 148316 Ags
Ot 1715, 9034 lo-fem. 2-gr. 2 T0815 41473

1716, —-—— _ 12744 11 fem. 3 gr. 154194 695
1717, ————_ 21793 2 fem. 3 gr. 276428 65
1718; +++ 196856 fem, 27149 193

IZ1Q ree 148240) pe le brng 3948652
1720; ———+—= 12760 15 fem. 3, gr. ——, 168992..42%
1721, ————= 13671 10 fem. 3 gr..——.178181. 332
1722, === 16884 2° fem. Paarl RES
1749; eee 10728 Bi fene s gE 2 10973 * Fah
Orr 1724s — 14384 10 fem. 4 Ste ernie ehh ye

A comparifor ‘of thefe eva iaeac fhews the annual Pplnice

of thefe works to amount to a tun of gold and a half, and fome-
times three quarters * ; and the Almighty has i in e jan manner
been pleafed, ‘for fome years -paft, to profper thefe filver-works,
fince they came under the prudent management of Mr. Stucken-
bruch, who by his penetrating genius, has greatly improved them
by feveral méchanical inventions, which, likewife to the honour
and advantage of thé country, have invited. great ‘numbers of ¢ curi-
ous‘foreigners, who with admiration here behold wonders, both
in nature and art,” bigs ‘as probably © no other country can pa-
rallel. | ..
The Me ee ae Lae officers of all ranks, the daily miners, la-
bourers, and penfioners, exclufive of their children and families,
who have their daily fupport here, according to the eftablifhment,
amount to near’ five thoufand perfons. ‘acne

In the mine of Kongtberg, ' the rollowang are adually ; in con-
ftant work :

Men.
In the firft Revier “ g u 650
In the fecond - = RE LSE
In the third 3 3 i 980 A

* From the Vienna article in the news of June 18, 175%, it. appears, that, all the
filver and gold mine-works, in the Imperial hereditary States, are not equal to the
fingle -mine-works of Kongfberg,: the words are thefe: ‘* Since! the ¢oramence.
ment of the reign of the emprefs queen, or from the year 1741 to. 1751, 15398364
guilders have been coined at her Imperial majefty’s mints of gold and filver, pro-
duced by the mines in the Auftrian hereditary dominions,

a: | . In

18g

NATURAL HISTORY of! VORWAY

reupnnt | Men.
~In the fourth =) ~ - goo
_ Sawyers - Tub ne Seni klid ane
.. In. the founderies dati dh dicen a tui ae ot 40
pdm. thecmint-— 1-5 .misi-or coe gar BERT LG

Carpenters - 0s : ~ 80

In shies {pring foreign. peafants ‘are wilees into see

for: wood and-coal; and in winter, ~when- day- be
labour ceafes,~ an Bude men are employed‘in '

mining, befides fixteen men kept in conftant pay:

for repairing the Hat-boats, and the like, amount- .

ing to, OR meee TS _- Snare Neg, |
In the fummer, ‘de Bersalin commences » in
| _ June, and continues till the clofe of N ovember,
when the men employed apeatileath Maser os comers
| Difabled and | fiche _Teceiving | Potions of from. the ‘s
~ “mine-cheft -. + ~ - - 300
Miners widows, Tikewite penfioners os - ——- 500
_ Officers widows . . ~ se) ei ae te a 30
Officers on penfion __ - poo Sie shu ae
Officers actually in fervice a ee 50
' Iffuers _ ~ - ~ - ~ 4.0
pra i) Bip as

I 16

ett

The Liber of all the inhabitants of the town of Kongtberg,.

amounts to betwixt ten and eleven thoufand fouls.
_ The principal officers are the following :_
Pile aah governor of the mine.
_ The comptroller of the mine.
Three affiftants.
A fecretary.
A fuperintendant.
A clerk of the mine.
An officer to fix the boundaries.
Four jurats. ©
Four head-refiners.
Two purveyors, ?
I

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 19r

A clerk of the huts.

A matter of the huts.
An aflay-mafter.

A mafter of the mint.
An engraver.

A keeper of the faws.

A chief forefter.
‘Three under forefters.

A. foreft-clerk.

A phytician and furgeon.

SECT. V.

The other Norway filver-mine was difcovered in the year The Jatiterg
1726, and begun by the families of Hufmann and Cicignon, and inh scas
afterwards, in the year 1734, devolved to count Wedel. It lies
near Bragnas, and for wood, water, and other neceflaries, is very
conveniently fituated ; and its ore likewife is very rich, but with-
out fuch folid veins or mafles of pure filver as thofe.at Kongfberg,
the ore, like that of the German-mines, having a large mixture of
lead and copper, which, in the phrafe of the miners, muft be
made good, and feparated by fufion. This operation ‘has hitherto
been inexpreflibly difficult and: laborious, and the profecution of
the work has been greatly obftruéted by the tedious labour, and
exceflive charges occafioned by the hardnefs of the metal, or ra-
ther by the adhefion of the metal, and its intimate conjunétion with
the ftone.. Whether this arifes from a large mixture of arfenic and
antimony, or from what other caufe, has been a controverted
point, and I muft refer the decifion to better judges. The hand-
{tones which I have of this, contain, as I have faid, copper, iron,
and lead, intermixed with the filver, yet the filver in fuch abun-
dance, that when experience fhall have improved the prefent me-
thod of fufion and feparation, and this mine comes to be wrought
with more {kill and attention, I am of opinion it will prove no
lefs profitable than that of Konefberge itfelf. In the mean time
the filver and lead found here, is fold to the royal mint at Kong-
{berg at a fettled rate. The names of the mines hitherto found,
and now wrought at the depth of forty-five fathoms, are upwards
of twelve in number. In copper-mines this kingdom has likewife
been providentially and remarkably diftinguithed, efpecially in the

roar. Ddd_ | moun-

162

The cépper-
works at Ro-
faas.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

mountain Nordenfield, which moft abounds in this metal, as Son-

denfield doth in filver and iron. The excellency of our copper

hath recommended it fo much among foreign nations, that many

fhiploads of it are annually exported, tho’ for the moft part un-

wrought, which is contrary to the maxim of our neighbours th

Swedes. : 7 rig}
eS ie Meda VA

The firft, and hitherto the richeft copper-work in Norway, and

- fince that of Falun in Sweden, is faid to be near exhaufted; poffi-

bly the richeft in all Europe, is that of Roraas, twenty miles N. E.
of Drontheim, and difcovered in 1644, by Laurence Loffius, re-
finer at the mine of Quickne, and who at the expence of his fa-
ther-in-law M. Andrew Olfens, fuperintendant of Dalerne, and in
concurrence with him opened, and forwarded this ereat under-
taking. ‘There are fome other particulars relating to this work re-
cited in a printed fermon of Mr. Peter Abildgaard, on occafion of
a jubilee celebrated on the gth of Oétober 1744, by the inhabi-

tants of Roraas, which is now a confiderable mine-town, in gra-

titude for the uninterrupted profperity of their mine during the
courfe of a hundred years ; and it is remarkable, that in this ju-
bilee year, a new fhaft of excellent flate was difcovered not far
from the old mine of Storvart, which is one of the oldeft and beft
courfes. Thefe courfes of the copper-veins, agree in their direc=
tion with thofe of other parts, neither afcending nor declining,
but like other ftrata, traverfing the mountains horizontally, tho’
thinneft towards their centre, like a lump of dough, which preffed
betwixt two ftones, is thinneft where the preffure lays greateft.
From the nature and difpofition of the parts, Mr. Daniel ‘Tilas, in
his difcourfe before the Swedifh Royal Academy of Sciences 1742,
borrows a very ingenious argument, and fhews from fome other

correfpondent inftances, what I prefume has been already evinced

by me, to fome degree of probability, in the fecond chapter. He
likewife applies thofe inftances to Dr. Woodward’s hypothefis on
the alterations of the terraqueous globe by the deluge. And this
entertaining little piece not coming into my hands till after I had
difcuffed that fubje@, to which it properly belongs, I fhall here
infert that part of it which {peaks of the copper-mines now under

3 | con~

' NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
confideration. The paflage ina free tranflation runs as follows:
‘¢ A more than convincing proof that the mountains once were
foft and fluid, is the horizontal and expanded direction of the
copper-veins near Roraas in Norway, efpecially thofe in Hefte-

field, likewife the mines Chriftianus V. Myr, and. Hefteklet.

This mountain is of a vaft breadth, and rifes with a very fteep
acclivity, with feveral protuberances on it. On the fouth end, fe-
veral courfes of ore fpread themfelves eaft and weft, the eaftern
being carried on by the mine king Chriftianus V. and the weftern
by that of Hefteklet ; and thefe two mines, in lerigth of time,
would certainly meet, fo as to open a paflage quite through the
mountain, had it not lately been obferved of the ore-courfes, that
the greater the height of the mountain is over them, the more
they are comprefied. They are already fo near to each other, that
the workmen in one can hear the ftrokes of thofe in the other.
But the mine Chriftianus V. being advanced to the hicheft part
of the mountain, the ore-courfe is already too natrow to be
worked, and that of Heftekler is alfo gradually approaching to

the like contraction ; a circumftance which has heretofore fhewn

itfelf on all the mines, that, on coming under an eminence, the
ore-courfe beneath has been comprefled, &¢.. Befides, the body
of the mountain itfelf, under thefe efhinences, fhews itfelf to be
much more compreffed, and, vice verfa. I fee ho other caufe to
which this can be imputed, than to the primordial fluidity of this
fubftance, and the fubfequent compreffion increafing from the
weight of the fuperjacent ftrata.” So far Mr. Tilas, wherein he
feems to predic& to pofterity a want of ore in thefe parts; but they
who are thoroughly acquainted with the affair, are of opinion that
the country near Roraas contains a ftore for many generations,
and that a want of fuel is more to be apprehended, the neigh-
bouring woods being already confumed, which occafions the coal
to be brought from foine diftance; and confequently raifes their
price. This fhould incite thofe, of whom it is the more imme-
diate concern, to promote the growth of young woods, and to
reftrain the keeping of goats, which do fo much damage among
the faplings ; for how many thoufand aft of coal, befide ftacks
of wood, this copper-work requires, may in fomé meafure be
conceived only from this circuimftance, that only the calcination

of

<<

193

IQ4

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

of the ore requires a frefh fire, fix, feven or eight times. That.
there are in this place, which not very long fince was a wild de-
fert, great numbers who now earn a comfortable fubfiftence, is
obferved by M. Peter Abildgaard, in his before-mentioned Jubilee
fermon, where he fays, ‘* It is not much above a hundred years
fince the only inhabitants of thefe parts confifted of feven or eight
families, making about thirty or forty perfons, and thefe led a
favage life, and derived all their fupport from hunting; whereas,
now, the number of this congregation exceeds two thoufand, ex-
clufive of the neighbouring, which contain many more; and all

fubfift by the working of the mine.”

To the Roraas copper-work belong feveral founderies, which
for the conveniency of a ready fupply of wood are built at a dif
tance from each other, and in places, to which in winter, when

_ the morafles and rivers are frozen, the ore may be conveniently

carried. Particularly at one place called. Tolgen, four miles froni
Roraas, are three founderies, and of the copper for fome years

Regnum fub- Melted. in them, I fhall here fet down an account taken frona

terraneum,

Pp: 124.

The medal,
or Lykken
coppér-wor

Mr, Schwedenborg. :

Gon ae _ Ship pounds of pure copper.
» 1698 » |4 Si dap ha AOD hd all aN hire ee
E700 pshieta Slad! RE ig BEAS
1702; os ; 975,
oh nb4CAnee on z hs de
vii EHO Gist eerily eee Eid Gite.
E7084 3h er so A4O9
7. 7 r-hsthG5d
RRB real te iti tag Botts 933
1722 — ~ 1087
L722 ee - I1Q2
1724.» - 1128

; Thele founderies annually confume betwixt 12 and 15000 lafts
of coals, and 5 or 600 fathoms of wood.

18, BYGLTy > VET.

Next to Roraas is the medal or lykken copper-work, four Nor-

. way miles and a half from Drontheim. It is faid to have been

difcovered in 1654. Its founderies lie near Syarkme, and Grud-
ae wy . fetter,

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

fetter, and according to the fame writer the produce of them has
been as follows;

Svatkma. Grudfetter.
| | | Ship-pounds of Ship-pounds of
Year. _ pure copper. » pure copper.
1720 ei 3 722 > 120
1721 ~ 694 - 261
1722 ~ 566 - 263
1723 - 4.78 ier 210

1724 - | | 40% how: 19
0 a us a A 1 aaah a

195

The Indfet or Quickne coppet-work lies ten Boiaay miles from ‘phe tnavee,

Drontheim, and though difcovered in 1635, was not wrought to
any great effe& till 1707. . Its ore is of eafier fufion than. the
former, and has lefs ftone in it, but on that account is the more
faturated with fulphureous particles. A quintal of the ore yields
12 {hip-pounds of copper, which require a.100 lafts of coal, and
its annual produce is betwixt 3 and 400 fhip- -pounds of metal.

The former director, M. Broftrup Fax, found out a method here,
by precipitation, to tranfmute iron .into copper; the procefs of
which is thus: Near the caverns lie heaps of marcafites and {coriz,
through which water is made to run into little channels filled
with bits of iron laid lengthways one below the other... This vi-
triolic-water carries with it the copper fediment, and fometimes
copper itfelf, and permeates through the iron till at length it -be-
comes copper... I-have a fpecimen of this tranfmutation, though
fo far imperfe&, that the internal part is ftill iron, and the furface
on all fides copper. Half a year is the term of a complete tranf-

mutation; but it muft be carefully attended, particularly with re-,

{pect to the time, for if it fhould lie a few days beyond the regu-
lar period, it would be fpoilt by the drofs and metal intermixing.
The iron fuffers a diminution in its weight, but this is compen-
fated in the profits of the tranfmutation. I remember Count
Marfilli, in his before-cited work, mentions a practice of this na-
ture at one of the copper-works in Hungary, where the vitriolic-
water, running from channel to channel, produces a like effect,
and has illuftrated his account of it with a copper-plate.

! Eee Side er ae

or Quickne
copper-work,

2: ra
196

The Selboe
copper-mine.

Tom. 111.
Ua < pee oe

NATURAL HISTORY. of NORWAY.

Dom edhe “Te:

The Selboe copper-work lies fix Norway niles Bs fiosabeh os
Drontheim, | and was difcovered in the year 1712. The ore at
firft had’ a-gteater mixture of ftone and fulphur than at prefent,
for it is now arrived to greater purity. It is ‘carried the diftance
of three Norway miles, to Mollenaa, where three fowndaries are
erected. Seven fhip-pounds and a half of pure copper are ex-
tracted from a hundred-tun of ore. Which, of the before-men-
tioned copper-works, the curious M. de la Martimire took a view
of, I know not, and much lefs with what truth he could mention
a filver-mine within two Norway miles of it; this indeed, throws —
a fufpicion upon’ his whole narrative. Hees I thall here i in-
fert it from Happel’s: tranflation in Mundo. mirabili.

‘© Upon our arrival at Drontheim, we waited on the fuperin-
tendant-general of the mines, to deliver him our letters,’ and de-
fired that our corn fhight be unloaded with all convenient dif
patch; but his anfwer was, that all his inferior officers being ‘at
the mines he muft fend a meflenger thither, ‘before our bufinefs

could be tranfacted. ‘Upon this I defired our captain’s leave to

go along with the meffenger, which being readily granted, we fet
out early the next morning on horfeback, and came to Steckby,
a large town fix Norway miles from Drontheim, where we
thought it advifable to fpend «that night, which was coming on
fo early as about three o’clock, for we were to pafs through a
large wood, infefted by wolves, bears, and linxes, which being
very ravenous, made it more dangerous to travel. im the dark.
We were mounted by break of day to continue our journey to
the mine, and about dufk reached the founderies, where, accord~-
ing to the cuftom of the country, we were liberally entertained
with great plenty of beer, brandy, and tobacco. It was my good
fortune here to meet with an officer, who having attended a Nor-
way nobleman in his travels, {poke very Sega French. | I told
him, that a curiofity of feeing the mines had brought me thither,
and that I fhould take it very kindly, if he would be pleafed to

affiift me in it, which he promifed I might depend. on the very

next day, and after cementing our acquaintance with a hearty

carouzal, we betook ourfelves to bed. The meflenger who left

I me

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

me and returned to Drontheim, having recommended me to one.

of the mine officers, who the next day propofed to carry me¢ with
him to the mine. My firft bufinefs the next morning was to go
to my new acquaintance, who had prepared a good breakfaft both
tor himfelf and me, and the officer, my guide, whom, during our
repait, he defired to fhew me the feveral parts of the works. Ac-
cordingly we left the foundery, which ftands upon a high moun-
tain near the entrance of the mine-works, and on the top of which
is a crane, worked by two men, each in a wheel. Thefe draw up
irom the mine large maffes, fometimes of ore, fometimes of earth,
as the free-ftone, and potter's clay is drawn up at Paris. The
oficer and I having feated ourfelves in a wooden veffel, compacted
with iron and cords, were let down into the fhaft, to the depth of
fifty fathoms. Upon reaching the bottom, I could not forbear
imagining myfelf in a kind of hell, nothing appearing but difmal

dark caverns, large fires, and the workmen looking like devils,

all in black leathern coats; and leathern caps like thofe our clergy.
wear in winter, floping towards the lower part, and widening.

upwards to faften over the nofe to keep out the fmoak, with
aprons of the fame. The work in thefe mines is various, fome
breaking the ore, others bufy with their inftruments in feeking for
copper-veins or water-courfes, which fometimes fuddenly break
out, as not long fince was the cafe, and with fo much violence,
that without the greateft activity in flopping it, the whole mine
had been under water. ‘The officer who had accompanied me in
this defcent, obferving me to be feized with fhivering, rung a bell
as a fignal to draw us up again, which was done in as fhort time
as we had been let down. We then returned to the foundery,
where my generous interpreter had’ provided a good dinner ready
for us, and after a cheerful meal, he, the officer, and myfelf, fet
out on horfeback to take a view of the filver-mine works, at two
miles diftance from thence. Upon our arrival there, we went up
to the chief overfeer’s houfe, who very jovially bid us welcome
in a glafs of brandy, which he afterwards filled round, and this
was fucceeded by tobacco and beer in plenty. After this regale
he conducted us to the foundery, which was about a quarter of a
mile from his houfe, and nearly of the fame conftruGion as 4
-copper-foundery. Here the workmen were all bufy in various

em ploy-

WO

198

Fandal

copper-work.

The copper-

work of
Aardale.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
employments, fome feparating, fome wafhine, fome melting, fome
refining, and fome forging; all for the: fio s ule. Bien the’
founderies we went to the mine works, w AN were in/an oppofite
mountain, the officer and I went down; but I found no manner
of difference betwixt this and the former, the ‘fhaft, fire, and
garb, the method and time of working were entirely the fame;
as to the latter, it was three hours before noon, and three hours
after, but in fummer four. In their leifure they are full of mirth,
dancing to a lyre of their mode, and other inftruments, I had the

pleafure at the copper-foundery to be a {pectator of one of their

revels. In the winter all work ftands ftill, but they receive their
daily pay of five Danifh fhillings as in f{ummer when at work.”

The importance of this copper-work may in fome meafure be
conceived from hence, that befides the many millions which for
thefe hundred years paft have accrued from them to private per-
fons, the tenths alone being an annual revenue to the crown of
thirty or forty thoufand rixdollars, and on the laft Swedith inva-
fion, a draught of five thoufand effeétive men was made out of
the workmen in thefe mines. ?

9 EG st a 5k.

~ Laft year a copper-work was opened at Fandal in Gulbranfdale

below Dofrefield, and which the proprietors have a profpe@ of
turning to very good account, but as I have no particular infor-
mation of it, I fhall pafs it over with faying, that the name of
the main groove is Frederic’s gift.

SOG, The aah

The copper-mine of Aardale, in the diftrti@ of Sundfiord, in
the diocefe of Bergen, being difcovered at the beginning of this
century, has been wrought firft by private perfons, and afterwards

on the king’s account, the ore being efteemed very fine and good,
and not without fome mixture of gold; which induced king Fre-
deric the fourth, to purchafe the mine for thirty thoufand rixdol-
lars; but afterwards, by the variation of the ore and other acci-
dents, it has been for a long time fufpended; however, purfuant
to a propolal laid before the revenue-chamber, it is foon to be fet

on foot again. my es
I Abode

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. £99

About thirty years ago a fociety undertook the working of a On the sland
copper-mine found on the ifland of Smolen, not far from the
leffer Fofen, now called Chriftianfand, but diffenfions, and other
caufes have put a ftop to it. |

On the other hand, in the year 1741, a fociety undertook a Ocdal.
copper-mine at Oedal, nine Norway-miles from Chriftiania, which
turns out to their great advantage, every quintal of ore yielding,
befides fome filver, fixty or feventy pound of copper.

SECT. XIL

Iron, which Pliny juftly calls, optimum vite peffimumque in- of iron in
ftrumentum, abounds all over Norway, but chiefly in the diocefe ie
of Chriftianfand, where the {piritus vegetativus, feems to have im-
pregnated *, all kinds of earth, according to the frequent obfer-
vations made from chymical analyfes of water, ftone, and moorifh
earth. Dr. Nichols, ina letter of his, fays, that, among all the Pnitofophicai

tranfactions,

feveral fubftances of which our earth is compofed, none is more Vol. xxxv.
~ generally found than iron, this metal being refident not only "aie
in all kind of ftones, but alfo in loam, This he proves by the
colours of loam, and the iron marcafite, by the facility of vitrify-

ing loam, and by the fimilitude between vitrified loam, and the

iron lamelle, by the dark red colour, which loam acquires by cal-
cination, and laftly, by this, that when burnt with a mixture of

* Concerning the vegetation of all metals by means of a vitriolic {pirit, which,
according to the Creator’s difpofition, emanes in vapours from the center of the earth
to its utmoft extremities, and particularly refides in the mountains for the gradual
growth of new metals, a great deal has been written by thofe who believe fuch a ve-
getation, though, by what I can fee, experience is not on their fide; no miner faying
that he has ever obferved any appearance of new metal to have grown in mines after
being exhaufted an hundred years or more: But a more decifive confutation of it is
what I have mentioned concerning the ore-drifts, the copper-mines at Roraas, in the
fame large flat ftrata, as at the creation, or at the deluge. However, as ete of
further reflection for thofe who may be of another opinion, I fhall here add, what the
very eminent Count Marfilli writes on this fubjeét, the rather, as from the price of it,
his work is not in every body’s hands, in Danub, Panon; Tom. 113. p. 117. he fa s,
“* Metalli hujus (ferri) ex primo illo, juxta noftram hypothefin reliquis etiam nobili.
oribus metallis communi principio, feu fpiritu metallico deducendo videtur fub vario
tamen refpectu feu gradu maturitatis, juxta majorem minoremve matricum ac fucco-
rum ibi occurrentium aptitudinem. And further, p. 129. Attentis obfervationibus
quas hactenus recenfuimus, vifum nobis eft, pofie probabiliter ftatui, communem
quendam halitum metallicum feu fpiritum ex penitioribus terre (veluti fermen ibi lege
conditoris reconditum) ad fuperficiem ufque elevari, tamque montium partes sale
dere, quam ipfas planities, verum tamen congruam ipfius fixationem potius in mon-
tibus fieri, ratione peculiaris ftru¢turee hapidese ac fecretionis fuccorum ibi cohcarrén-
tium ad differentiam ftructura ac porofitatis terre componentis planities.

- Parr I, Bes oil,

Lift of the

iron-works,

In Regn.
fubter.

Pp. 169.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY
oil, it becomes pure iron. It is certain, however, that iron is not
univerfally of equal goodnefs, or equally maleable, and on ac-
count of its extreme hardnefs requires an immenfe quantity of
wood, and tho’ not inferior in real value cannot be attended at fo
low a price as in Sweden: the lower clafs of people there are
under a neceffity of working for {mall wages, and a poor peafant,
often undertakes a little foundery of his own, being fure of a
quick vent; whereas in N orway, all the iron-ore in general is
wrought at a great expence, and the feveral branches of it require
a very opulent proprietor, or even a fociety of proprietors. Out
of the moor-iron, which is found in large lumps among the mo-

raffes, the peafant himfelf makes his domeftic tools and utenfils *.

However next to the timber, iron is one of the moft profitable
products of Norway, feveral hundred thoufand quintals being an-
nually exported, partly, and chiefly in bars, partly in caft iron, as
ftoves, cannon, pots, kettles, and the like; the national profit of
which is eftimated at three or four hundred thoufand rixdollars:
Thefe iron works are the following.

stu Dar etka aa 1 a

Bareboe, likewife called Baafelands-works, lies two Norway-
miles from Arendal; this is one of the oldeft, and ftill in a good
condition. , He (al bas goltsaio

Barums-work, like the former, and clofe to it. Its ore is by
Mr. Swedenborg accounted the beft in Norway. — |
_ Bolvig’s-work, not far from fkeen. | wipe

Dikkemarks-work near that of Barum, is at prefent difconti-
nued. |

Edfvolds-work in Over-rommerige, its founderies and machines
are to be feen in the above-mentioned place, of Mr. Swedenborg’s
work, page 165.. | Nie case) West

Egelands-work in the parifh of Gierftadt, is but a little under-
taking. :

-Eidsfos-work in the county of Jarlfberg.

Foflam-work near fkeen, is one of the beft, and famous for the

great number of cannon. caft there.

- * In the parifh of Vinia in Waas, is a kind of moor-iron, as hard as fteel, of which
the peafants make excellent axes, fcythes, knives, and the like. Ha

,

NATURAL.HISTORY of VORWAY.
Hakkedals-work. in Hadeland, four N orway miles from
Chriftiania. ~ | ,

Kongfberg-work has for fome time been intermitted on account |

of faving the coals for the filver-mines.

Laurwigens-work belonging to the county of that name, is the
largeft and of the greateft produce throughout the whole country.

Lefiz in Gulbrand{dale below Dofrefield, was opened a fecond
time in 1710, Mr. Swedenborg defcribes it in pag. 168.

Moffe-work near the town of Mofs. a

Nefs-work not far from Laurvigen, and belonging to the fame
proprietor. ;

Oudals-work in the diftri@ of Solfer; the ote of this is poor.

Vald near Krageree. |

Ulefos, likewife called Haldens-work, one Norway-mile and a
half from Skeen. A particular circumftance of this work is, that
the iron-mines run under a lake, fo that for a quarter of a mile,
the roof of the mines has a deep water over it, the motion of
which may be plainly heard within the mine.

It remains to be obferved, that iron was the firft metal wrought
in this country, and many hundred years before the working of
the more precious metals was thought of, and by all accounts the
oldeft works are thofe of Eilefield near Saint Thomas’s church,
and in Lefloe and Edfwold; but the moor-iron was certainly the
firft difcovered. Ol.-Wormius fays, ‘* Tacitus refert, Gotthones
coluiffe ferri fodinas. Agricola eas celebrat, que inter fegnedali-

am et ofterdaliam funt, ut et in Telemarchia ad tertium a feida

oppido lapidem eruuntur.

5 BGT ys XIV.

201%

By all the intelligence I have been able to acquire, tin has not Lead-works.

yet been found in this country, but in the county of Jarlfberg
lead is found mixed with the filver-ore, as I have before ead
tioned; this lead is faid to have a hardnefS in it, which renders it
not fo fit for ufe in the Kongfberg founderies as could be withed ;
and therefore it is generally difpofed of to the Enelifh. The old
grooves near Chriftiania or Aggerhuus-caftle, are faid to have
been worked in fearch of lead and copper, and not for filver-ore

as Agricola pretends. ;

3 ) But

202 NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.
De Metall. But Mr. Arnd. Berndfen, in his book on the fruitfulnefS of

lib. ii. cap. 8.
s Denmark, and Norway, page 276, relates, “‘ that in the year
1630, copper and lead-ore were found intermixed at Tellemark; |
eecttr and according to Nicholas Cragius, a hundred years before, and
in the fame country, a like difcovery was made. I have been in-
formed by credible perfons, that near Foffand-houle, in the pa-
rifh of Strand, befides the iron-ore, feveral rich veins of lead have
been found. I lately had a fpecimen of lead-ore fent me, which,
upon fufion, proved very rich and good. It came from Ryefylke,
not far from Stavanger. If the vein, upon farther fearch, fhould be
found large and anfwerable, it will be found very well worth
working. The lead-ore, mixed with filver, belonging to the di-
ftri& of Helgeland, on the borders of Sweden, has already been
mentioned. |
Eger, not far from Kongfberg, alfo affords lead-ore, and of the
Jarlfberg kind; and the proprietors of the copper-work of Oudal,
in the diftria& of Soloer, have lately begun to open fome lead-
mines. i |

SECT. XV.

Quickfilver. Of the other minerals, which are commonly denied the appel-
lation of metals, and of feveral kinds of foflils, ufed for dying and
painting, fome intelligent perfons inform me that there are fome
to be found here and there in Norway, but others not at all.
Great fearches have been made after quickfilver, or mercury, but
hitherto without fuccefs, except at one place, where it is matter of
sreat doubt whether it was originally produced there. A few years
ago, counfellor Stockfleth, found in a clod of earth near the houfe
of Viul, as much quickfilver as would have filled a bafon; but,
as after. a great deal of laborious digging and fearching no more
could’ be found, it occurred to fome, that this mineral was
not native there, it being poffible that the quickfilver of fe-
veral looking-glaffes, deftroyed in a fire fome time fince, and
thrown thereabouts, might have run together and coalefced in

In AdisMed. this lump of earth. The conjecture of Th. Bartholin, is till more

et Philof. yi “ ;
Hafaent ad uncertain on the Gramen Offifragum, found in this country,

AliGoiswal 4 4
ii. H eee ” aaebe he fuppofes to be an indication of lead or quickfilver be-
ing contained in the earth where it grows.

3 SECT.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

BB Get VE

203

Sulphur is likewife to be found among our mines in ereat, Sulphur.

plenty, but it is not thought worth melting and depurating, as is
done at Dylta in Sweden, the Iceland Vulcano’s ejecting whole
torrents of fulphur *, which the company’s fhips carry to Copen-
hagen, in fufhcient quantities to ferve all the powder-mills; which
is the chief demand for it.

i OE OR Mate ag FO

Norway affords no vifible falt-mines; but near Fredericftadt ig sats.

a faline fpring, tho’ for feveral reafons it is negleted. Whether
this {pring arifes from the fea or from any fubterraneous mine is
not clear, though from its diftance of a Norway-mile from the fea,
it can hardly be fuppofed to derive from thence. I have already

{poke of the falt, which in feveral places is boiled out of fea- chap. iii

water, yet fhall here add the following fhort account of the royal

falt-work near Tonfberg, to be found in Mr. Muller’s defcription Page 109.

«

of Tonfberg, lately publifhed.

In the year 1739, his majefty was pleafed to order falt-works of the fate.

to be erected in the peninfula of Valoe, a Norway-mile and a
half from Tontberg, which in the year 1742, was compleated
under the direétion of Mr. Van Beuft of the privy-council. It has
two refining-houfes, each two thoufand feet in length, and di-
vided into fix refervoirs, to which the water is conveyed out of
the fea by a wheel worked by horfes, and running in channels

.. * Among all the mountains of Norway no volcanoes have hitherto, God be
praifed, been known, though, from the following circumftances, fome fuch dreadful
phenomena may in the courfe of time break out. © In Hardanger, near Diodne-
houfe, in the parifh of Kinzerwiig, is a mountain about two hundred fathoms in
height, the fummit of which, as old people affirm, a little above a hundred years
ago began to fplit and feparate, though then the clift was fo narrow that an active
man could leap acrofs it, but in time it gradually enlaged to nine or ten ells ; upon
which the owner of the houfes, according to the devotion of this country, made a
vow of a yearly offering to Kinzerwiig-church, fince which the apperture is faid to
have continued as it was; but on the other hand, that part of the mountain which
lies toward the fouth, has funk perpendicularly, and is gradually finking ; this fide,
as I _myfelf have feen, is fix or eight ells lower than the other: whether this be
not a fymptom of a fubterraneous fire, I will not take upon me pofitively to pro-
nounce. ‘I’he Turin article, in. the. public papers of Auguft 21, 1751, informs us,
that the mountain Plainjou, near Paffi in Savoy, had lately burft in the like man-
ner, with a very copious evaporation of fulphur, which diffufed its fmell all over
Re repr y: and occafioned the people to expect fiery eruptions, like thofe of mount
efuvius.

Part I. Geog through

works near
Tonfberg.

204

Vitriol:

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

through wears from one refervoir into another, till it has attained
its proper pungency. The falt-pans, or the large kettles in which
the water is boiled, yields in two or three days two and twenty tuns
of falt, large meafure, the tun being computed at twelve buthels,
and each pan requires every time four.or five fathoms of wood.
But in {pring, or the beginning of the fummer, where, by the
melting of the fnows, the rivers carry a greater quantity of freth-
water into the fea, which fomewhat diminifhes its faltnefs, the
boiling requires longer time, and confequently more wood. Mr.
Muller accounts this falt better than that of Lunenburgal, tho’
fome, poflibly from conceit or partiality, affert the contrary. This
falt-work has a feparate jurifdiétion, from which, however, an ap-
peal lies to the minery-court at Kongtberg.

It was imagined that arfenic had been found in the filver-
mines of Jarlfberg, and to this, among other things, the hardnefg
of the ore was attributed, but perfons better verfed in thefe mat-
ters, deny any fuch thing.

Seo ELGe LDV te

Vitriol, the infeparable concomitant of copper and iron, might
be had here in great plenty if the preparation of it could be

brought to turn to good account. The Norway-company, fome

Tn Muf. cap.

x. p. 26.

Allum,.

years ago, begun to eftablifh, near Kongfberg, a vitriol-work,
which they called the Loft-Sons; but that, antecedently to this,
there had been vitriol-works in Norway, appears from the follow-
ing words of Ol. Wormius: <* In Norvegia fimile vitriolum ela-
boratur arte, magis ad ceruleum quam ad viridem tendens colo-
rem, verum non in maflis, fed in granulis afperis et ineequalibus
proftat. Viribus et facultatibus nulli cedit.”” The Englifh prepare
their vitriol from a kind of yellow-veined pyrites, which, after
being expofed. three months to the open air, becomes fit for yield-
ing vitriol. It is hardly a queftion, whether the like might not
alfo be done here?
SiH Gy Ppl
Allum, which has fo near an affinity with the former, and con-
tains it, is found in great plenty under Egeberg, near Chriftiania,
betwixt the flate-flakes, and works have alfo been fet up there,
which yield plenty of vitriol as well as Allum; but the latter is
not

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 208
not eafily feparated from its fediment, fo as to be brought toa
proper tranfparency, and on this account is fo much the cheaper*.
However, this fediment makes a fine brown dye, like the well- Forer
known Englifh oker, and fome fpots of this kind are found in
Moraffes ;_ this, when carefully taken up, fo as to be clear of
fand, is found fit for painters. I myfelf accidentally alighted upon |
fuch a kind of brown oker in the parifh of Sund in thefe parts ;
and the ifland of Carmen is alfo faid to produce the like; but in
the parifh of Quelfiorden in Nordland, it is fold at a rix-dollar
the tun, and ufed for painting houfes. Ol. Wormius, in his Muf.
cap. 111. p. 4. makes fome mention of two kinds of red earth in
Ferro, which are of ufe in painting.

Shh oy Ape. e. ¥.

Cinnabar, or Minium-nativum, by all that I can learn, has not
yet been found here, but feveral places produce very good ockra,
or oker, which belongs to the iron fpecies, or is a kind of iron-
ruft. The famples in my pofleffion are of Sulen on Sundmoer,
Quale in Ryefylke, and from Gedderen. Out of the gates of
Chriftiania, near the place of execution, a vein of very good oker
runs along the fide of the declivity of the mountain,

SECT. XXI;-

It may be prefumed from the copper-mines, that by a diligent bike CH
fearch, rightly directed, a blue colour, like the ultramarine, or
fome fuch, might be found, but the country near Wardehuus in
Finland, on the borders of Ruffia, produces a foflile of a fine
fky-colour, of which a gentleman lately brought a fpecimen, by
which it appears very well to deferve a further infpection, the
connoifieurs being unanimous in their high eftimation of it. —

Near the before-mentioned houfe of Viul in Ringerige, is ge ericisiae
found a very black fhining fine loam, and fo fine that it follows the
pencil with the fmoothnefs of foap, and may be ftiled the Nor-
way Indian-ink +. Near Stavenger, as alfo at a sreater diftance

from

* In fome places’ urine is made ufe of for precipitating the fediment, which hin-
ders the allum from attaining its genuine clearnefs : whether this procefs has been
introduced here I know not. |

+ LT have been lately informed by Mr. Gabr. Heibeg, fuperintendant at Nordfiord,

and paftor at Gloppen, that near the houfes of Ryg and Eide, if not in other places,
a kind

206

A fragrant

white loan.

Terra anti-

{corp utica.

NATURAL HISTORY of MORWAY.

from the town, is dug a. died of black colour, which, in appear-
ance, nearly refembles dried coals, and by fome has is intro-
duced for painting.

Near Aalgaard in the parifh of Giefdal, in the above-men-
tioned province, in the bottom ofa little frefh fpring, is found a
kind of white loam, like Terra-figillata, and alfo very ductile ;
but the moft remarkable property is, its agreeable fmell like that
of mufk. |

In the Epiftole Ol. Wormii, particularly in the fecond part 717,
in a letter to T. Bartholin, mention is made of a kind of mineral-
earth beneficial againft the {curvey, and found near Bergen; but
the particular place is not fpecified, and all of whom I have en-
quired know nothing of it; which fhews the utility of placing in
a permanent and confpicuous light what minute difcoveries are
eradually made in any part of natural philofophy. The words
of this learned perfon, in that place, are thefe: “ Terra illa anti-
{corbutica, cujus mentionem facit catalogus, prope Bergas in Nor-
vegia reperitur ; eam mihi attulit Fabricius Medicus Regius, qui
ait, ejus civitatis---Poliatrum, non fine fuccefiu ad fudores in
f{corbuto movendos ea uti, drachma una in aqua appropriata: cum
effoditur, impura valde eft, radiculis et fabulo repleta: munda

— lentorem et pinguedinem nullam habet, fed formam pulveris re-

fert, colore T urpethi-miner alis, ex mercurio confedi.”
a kind of black earth is found, of which the peafants make a very good ae for their

ftuffs, which fhews that it is likewife proper for painting, and might be ufed inftead
of lamp-black.

End of the First Parr. |

THE ie
NATURAL HISTORY

Ww OTR WAY:

A particular and accurate Account of the Temperature of the Air, the
different Soils, Waters, Vegetables, Metals, Minerals, Stones, Beafts,
Birds, and Fifhes; together with the Difpofitions, Cuftoms, and
Manner of Living of the Inhabitants: Interfperfed’ with Phyfiological
Notes from eminent Writers, and TranfaGions of Academies.

Po Ae Rov Mean EE

Tranflated from the Danis ORIGINAL of the

Right Rev’. Errcu Ponropprpay,

Bilhop of BERGEN in Norway, and Member of the Royal Academy
| of Sciences at COPENHAGEN.

Illuftrated with Coppzr Prares, and a General Map of Norwa ve

LGM DON.
Printed for A, Linper, Bookfeller to her Rov at Hreuness th
of WALE s, in Catherine-Street in the Strand

M.DCC.LV.

e Princefs Dowager |

+3:

HE

weer
“5 :

The Aurnor’s PREFACE.
TO CH E

eh AE EN oe Ga

w ASTI year, when I publifhed the Firft Part of the Natural
| Hiftory of Norway *, concerning the climate, the air, and
the inanimate and vegetative productions of that country, I
purpofed that the Second Part, which treats of Animals, fhould,
by all means, go along with it: but unforefeen accidents pre-_
vented my intention: particularly a dreadful fire, which con-
fumed a great part of this city, in Auguft, 1751. My honfe
was in imminent danger at the fame time, of being involved in
this calamity, with all my manufcripts, &c. but, by the mercy
of God, the conflagration did not reach fo far.

This accident, which might have prevented me from ever
compleating this work, has made me lefs {crupulous in pub-
lifhing this and other manufcripts, in colleGting and compiling
of which I had taken fo much pains; tho’ they might not be

fo accurate and corre& as I could have wifhed.

’Tis true, the poet fays,

Nonum premantur in annum.

But it feems to me more reafonable that every member of the

republick of letters fhould contribute, as far as lies in his power,
* The Author’ publifhed this work in two volumes Quarto ; the firft was printed

in 1752, but the fecond was not committed to the prefs till the year following, for

the reafons mentioned in the preface,

to

(Limit)
to the improvement of the world, rather than let his works lie
ufelefs, and perhaps be deftroy’d at laft by fome finifter acci<
dent.

The Firft Part of this prefent work a had the happinefs to
receive the approbation of the public, even to a greater degree
than I think it deferves : but whether the Second Part will meet
with the fame favour and indulgence, time will difcover.

However, it has been my intention to render this part as in-
{tructive and entertaining as the former; and I prefume it is
more worthy of our notice, as the fubje@, namely, the animal
creation, is of more importance than the inanimate and vege-
tative.

In the firft feven chapters I have treated of Quadrupeds,
Snakes, Infects, Birds, and Fifhes, efpecially thofe that are pe-
culiar to Norway. . I flatter myfelf that thofe who can take a
pleafure in contemplating the admirable ceconomy and contri-
vance of the great Creator with regard to the brute creation,
will find fo many glaring inftances of his confummate wifdom,
paternal care, and almighty power, that he will be ready to fay,
with the a fon of. Sirach, ‘* Great is the Lord that made it.”
Eccluf. viii. 5.

The eighth chapter, which treats of the Norvegian Sea-
monfters, or thofe Animals of enormous fize and uncommon
form, which are fometimes féen in the ocean, may contribute ag
much to this good end as any of the preceding.

I have endeavoured as much as poflible to avoid the imputa-
tion of being over-credulous, and, upon that account, often de-
cline giving my opinion of fome relations, the credit of which I
have no reafon to doubt. I mention this, becaufe I forefee that
when fome readers come to read the contents of the eighth chap-
ter, concerning the Mer-maid, the great Sea-fnake, of feveral
hundred feet long, and the Krake, whofe uncommon fize feems
to exceed belief, they may fufpe&t me of too much credulity.
_ If it fhould fo happen, I am content patiently to fubmit to
their cenfure, till they have read the chapter through, and
then I flatter myfelf that I fhall have no need of an satay. |

_ Since

Xv) |
Since the microfcopé tas been brought to fuch a degtee of per-
feGtion, that not only thé minuteft animals, but ever thofe
which before entirely efcaped our fight, dre now difcovered, and
become the fubject of our “examination + what a new fcene of
things is prefented to our view, and how vaft the extent of
Nature’s empire *! “Great difcoveries in this way might be
* made in Norway. if there was but a SWAMMERDAM or 4
REAUMUR amongft us, provided with the beft olafles, and

oi g 453 2

has {tood fo long, that thé moft formidable and bulky of its inha-
bitants have been hardly known to an
cépting a few Norvegian fifhermen*. :

However, thofe creatures are very well known to them ; and
if the many unqueltionable witneffes, whoni I have firiGly ex-
amined with regard to this affair, afe not to be. credited, then

y of the human race, ex-

we muft fet afide alinoft all human teftimony. aye
‘If my account of thé exttofdinary Sea-aniinals fhould ‘not
difpleafe the philofophers of the’ prefent age, I willingly fubmit
my thoughts, as far as they are only my own, to their judgé.
Ment’; whofe corrections and obfetvations tending to the antend-
ment of this work by a tiew “editidn, or by tranflations into
other languages, will be always agteéable to me, atid the favour
will be received with gratitude,

_* What can we think of the: Animaleyle, which De Lifle, in the Hiftoire de
PAcademie Royale, ad Ann. 1711, p-.18, Jays he faw through 4 mictofcope,
which, in ‘the fpace of a fecond “of time, ‘or one pulfation of the artery; ads
_ vanced: forwards: three inches; taking: 340 ‘ftepsy' But wheat we fuppofe that
~ every living Creature, the leaft as well! as, the? greateft,, is, 4 hydraulic and pnetts
matic machine, compofed of various parts, for various purpofes, it raifes our ad-
miration of the works of “the “all-wifé Créatot fll “higher, H : | |
+ Veniet: tempus; quo ipfa' qua ntine’ latent,! dice éxt¥aher, & longioris evi dili®
gentia.. Ad) inquifitionem Fantorum gtas noni ura fufficit, Veniet téinpus, qué
potteri noftri tam aperta nos nefciviffe mirabuntur, Seneca,
~ Part IL. b The

(wy

The other claffes of Sea-animals, and various kinds of Fifhes,
might perhaps have been fomething more compleat in this work ;
bak I have. compared it.with more ‘accufate and particular ac-
counts than-I have. been able with certainty to .give, from my
own, or my. correfpondents experience.. However, I have been
yery exadt and careful in. obferving thofe limits; and what
extends beyond them I don’t affirm for a certainty. Of Birds
and Quadrupeds there are found here alfo fuch forts, as in
other European countries are Tittle, or hardly. known. and
therefore I. have been more prolix in, the defcription of them,
As for the account of the-rational inhabitants of « Norway, I
did not at firft intend to touch upon. its but, upon, further
confideration, I found nothing i in it that was inconfiftent with the
plan. of a Natural Hiftory, ; EF or ‘this reafon I haye,. In the two.
laft chapters, . collected as many particulars, as might be faf-
ficient to give the reader fome idea of the genius and qualities

of the Norvegian nation. | a eats =
I have one thing to. obferve ji in ros are vith Sane to a
literary article foennoned in my preface to the firft. part of
this work: I there reckoned. the antient treatife, called Specu-
lum, Regale, amongft. the. books that) are loft, and lamented
the want; of : intelligence that might. have. been, collected from
; but L have been, fince informed, with the: greateft pleature,
to mar contrary, , in a etter from, the honourable Mr. Luxdorphy, *
councellor of. fate, dated the: 2oth. of January, ! Jatt. I find like-.
wile, (tho’ too late) that COPY. of that antient manufetipt is,jto
be found in the univerfity- library < at Copenhagen, among many,
other manufcripts given to the univerfity by the late profeffor
Arnas Maghechs’;, ‘a catalogue Of ‘Whole donations’ ‘deferves to be

printed, at leaft, ne the information of ‘foreigners and. others...
lan further -informed in. that-Jearned. gentleman’s letter
that! the old notion‘of the: Speculum - Regale beiag. written by
the wife and valiant King § Sverre, OF, at leaft by his ‘order, and,
confequently..1na shis:, ‘time, ) is: ‘entirely: without, foundation’ for
Mr. Liwxdorph a hates it was written about the latter otog
0

rt ot a |

ti re 3
i ii TAA’

( vu )

of the thirteenth, or beginning. of the fourteenth century.

The author calls himfelf one of the firft in rank at the king

of Norway’s court, and informs us that he lived in Helgeland,
in the diocefe of ‘Tronheim. This book .is written in the
manner of a dialogue betwixt a father and fon, containing,
befides many good rules, both political and civil, feveral obfer-
vations in natural philofophy, relating to the Northern
countries; but not fo much of Norway in ek as of
Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland. ie

I have nothing farther to oblerve 5 but. thal rece with
this ardent wifh, ‘ That the eyes of the Lord, which behold
¢ all the nations upon earth, may always look favourably upon
‘ this country and people, both/in all f{piritual and temporal
© affairs :’? “ of him, and through him, and to pie are all things:
“ To him be all honour and glory for evermore.””» Amen!

‘Bergen, April
24, 1753.

Pe ten TE ak,

. ep
} k

THE

Pee?

CONTENTS

Mo iB ico lod Pali

CHAPTER |

mi Four-footed Beafts, or Quadrupedes. :
CHAP. IL
Of Serpents ¢ and Infects. | -
CHAP. UL
Of BIRDS. :
| | CHAP. IV.
Continuation of Birds. |
i Ro Ea AO EN)
Concerning Fifh and Fisheries.
| ‘CHAP. VIL

A Continuation of the former, concerning Fith and
_ Fifheries.
CHAP. VII
| au wet exfanguious Fifh, or thofé without Blood ;
which ate either inclofed j in a fhell, or are naked
and defenceleis.

CHAP. VIII.

Concerning certain Sea-monfters, or ftrange and un-

common Sea-animals.

CHAP. IX.
Containing an. Account of the Norwegian Nation.
Ros CHAP. X,

A Continuation of the former, concerning the Nor-
weer Nation.

Page ing

34
56 |
79

103
130

161

—«1 82 |

266

THE

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

4

wo) Pe ae dak

AP A SNA MS fF

CHAPTER IL.

Of Four-footed Beafts, or Quadrupedes.

Sect. I. Norvegian Horfes. Sect. Il. Oxen and Cows. Sect. III. Sheep and
Goats. Secrv. IV. Swine, Dogs and Cats. Sect. V. The Deer, the Roe-
buck, Stag, Hares and Rabbits. Sect. VI. The Elk and Rein-deer. Srcr.
VII. Bears.. Sect. VIII. Wolves.. Sect. 1X. The Lynx. Sect. X. Foxes.
Sect. XI. The Glutton. Srcr. XII. The Marten. Sect. XIII. Squirrels.
Sect. XIV. Ermines. Sect. XV. Beavers. Sect. XVI. Ofters. Sect.
XVII. Badgers. Sect. XVUI. Porcupines and Moles, Sect. XIX. Rats
and Mice... Sect. XX, Leming.

St Ee OF AEH
s=~ HE four elements, and the inanimate creatures of
“Type Norway, have been defcribed in the firft part of this
@O4 Natural Hiftory: I now come to the defcription of
™ | thofe: endued with animal life; the quadrupedes,
reptiles and infects, birds, fifhes; and to the confideration alfo
of the human fpecies. Speaking of quadrupedes (or four-footed
beafts) I fhall firft defcribe the tame, and thofe deftin’d for the
fervice of mankind: among thefe firft 1s to be confidered the
horfe *. Wi )
Part I. | B The
* T obferve, in claffing the beafts, the rule which Monfieur Buffon, in his Hift. Nat.

TT. 1. Dife. 1. p. 33. calls the moft natural. He founds it upon the fervice mankind
aie have

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW AY.

The Norway horfes are not uncommon in Denmark, for they
are carried thither, where they are admired for their neat and
elegant make, and their ftrength ; they are generally {mall, but
well-proportioned, plump and round; the largeft and beft are
from Guldbranfdal, Surendal and Larendal; the peafants breed
them, for I never heard there was one ftud here. Their colour
is generally a deep bay, with black manes and tails; and a
black, brown, grey, or lightifh mioufé-colour ftreak along the
back ; but black is feldom feen ; in fifty hardly one. They are
kept on poor and fcanty food, but are in as good condition as
others that live better. A peafant’s horfe hardly ever taftes
corn, yet, tho’ they liye on nothing but hay, they are fpirited
and {wift.

_Hormod Torf remarks in his Hift. Norv. p. 4. lib. 8. cap. 3.
that Anno 1302, a man, whofe name was Augmund Hugh-
leickfon, and who was afterwards hanged at Nord Nees near
Bergen, was the firft who gave his horfes oats in this country,
whence he had the nick-name of Horfe-Corn, Quod in Norvegia
primus equos avena paverit. — |

The horfes here are not {ubject to fo many difeafes as in moft
other countries; and in particular the flaggers, which they
feldom have naturally, tho’ fome get it by extreme labour and
old age. It is not ufual here, as in moft other places, to geld
horfes ; for which reafon they are full of {pirit and ftrength,
and are preferable to geldings. But as ftone-horfes often are
vicious, his excellence the ftadtholder Guldenloue, in his time,
ordered that moft of the horfes fhould be gelded ; that there
fhould be only two ftone-horfes in each village. This made as
much mifchief among the peafants, as was done before by the
horfes; for the commonality do not love to have new cuftoms
introduced ; and if they do come amongft them, they muft get
in very gradually. Thefe orders of the ftadtholder were exe-
cuted in but very few towns, and are now quite neglected ; it
was, however, a well-grounded law, as may be obferved by this :
- in. the fields and clofes, for two miles (ten Englifh miles) about
Bergen, according to an antient cuftom, no peafant dare keep a

have of them, firft naming horfes and oxen. According to Aldrovand’s opinion, thefe
have the general name of Jumenta a juvando. This rule fhould be obferved in hu-
man fociety ; the moft ferviceable member fhould have the preference. Hr. Jac. Theod.
Klein, in his lately publifhed Difpofitio Quadruped. p. 33. is not fatisfed with
Mont. Buffon’s method, but claffes quadrupedes rather according to their parts; and
agrees in that with H. C. Linnzus in his Fauna Suecica, who, in that refpect, ridicules
Buffon rather too feverely. Jo. Jac. Schmidt, in his Phifico Biblico, p. 424, & feq.
_ treats largely on the diftinétions, preference and pre-eminence of beatts,

mare ;

NATURAL I HISTORY of WORWMUY. ;

mate; fo that there are nothing ufed but ftone-horfes. The

_reafon is, that there are no coach-roads fit for horfes to draw in

yoked ; but all that comes to town by land, is brought in pack’d

upon the horfes back, and the peafants drive two, three, or four _

at a time before them, as in other places they do affes, Were nee
thefe loaded horfes to: meet with mares, there would be free gland, where
quently mifchief; as it is managed, the horfesman mutt take Qoniewd.
gteat care, and fit faft.in the faddle, for when thefe horfes meet

in the narrow roads, they feldom pafs without a fignal of
animofity. ihe |

The Norway horfes are better for riding than drawing ; their
walk is eafy ; they go dancing along, and they are always full
of fpirit; they are very fure-footed, a circumftance highly
neceflary in thefe bad roads. ‘The fine Danifh horfés could not
goin them, without hazarding their own lives and their Riders.

When they go up and downa fteep cliff on ftones like {teps,

they firft tread gently with one foot, to try if the ftone they
_ touch is faft ; and in this they muft be left to their own manage-
_ ment, or the beft rider that is will run the tifque of his neck:
when they are to go down avery fteep and flippery place, they,
in a furprifing manner, draw their hind legs together under them
and flide down. !

They fhow a great deal of courage when they fight’ with the
wolves and bears, which they are oft obliged to do, particularly
the latter ; for when the horfe perceives any of them near, and
has a mare or gelding with him, he puts the weaker behind
bim, and attacks his antagonift with his fore-legs, which he ufes
like drumfticks to ftrike withal; and comes off ufually the
conqueror. | | | |

Many of the people of fafhion would not’ believe this, till
ftadtholder Wibe, in king Frederic the fourth’s prefence, made
the experiment, with one of his coach-horfes, at F redericfbere.
This creature fell upon a bear let loofe-againft him, and laid him £
prefently dead: but fometimes the bear, who has double ftrength,
gets the advantage, and efpecially if the horfe happens to turn
about to kick with his hind-legs. If he attempts this he is
ruined ; for the bear inftantly leaps upon ‘him, and fixes him-
felf on his back: in this cafe he gallops off with his angry rider,
till by lofs of blood he drops down, |

SE Cyl. IL

NATURAL HISTORY of VORV AY.

S,BWC <1. .fk

The Norway oxen and cows are in general of a yellow colour,
as the horfes; they are {mall, but like the Danifh in their make.
Mr. John Anderfon, in his Defcription of Ifland xxvii. afcribes
this littlenefs to the extreme cold and denfe air, in thofe countries
towards the north pole; which he thinks, altho’ it does not
hinder the fifh from growing to the largeft fize, may hinder the.
parts of land animals from dilating themfelves, as in milder
and lighter air. For this reafon, in the hotteft climates are found
the largeft beafts; as elephants, rhinoceros, dromedaries, camels,
&c. but I don’t know that this reafon has any force here: of this
I hall not determine, but of a certainty it is not applicable to
all beafts; for the elk and ftag, I believe, are hardly any where
larger. Not to mention the people, who, as to the principles of
animal life, would certainly be fubjeG@ to the fame accidents. In
that it does not hold, for the men of Norway yield to thofe of no
other,nation for bodily growth and ftrength of limbs *. On the
other hand we will agree with the curious author in his Account
of Greenland §. xxxvi. wherein he obferves, on this head, the pe-
culiar providence of the Creator: for in the coldeft climates the
beafts are generally fuller of blood, and their fat grows on the
outer parts, that 1s, betwixt the flefh and the {kin, for their
greater warmth. On this head I fhall add an obfervation of my
own, confirmed by others that I have confulted about it ; which
is, that the white membrane, which lies acrofs the loins of our
cattle, is much thicker and larger than elfewhere ; and, without
doubt, this is intended to keepin the natural heat.

In our Norway cows is found very little tallow; and the moft
of that which is tranfported 1s goats, as fhall be {hewn hereafter.
The meat, after good grafing, towards the winter is fufficiently
fat, and very tender and delicate; fine grained, juicy, and

* If what this author advances had foundation in nature, then the beafts in the
parith or diftri& of Tronheim, which is much farther north, fhould be {maller than
in the parifh of Bergen; but this is found quite the contrary, for they vifibly exceed
them,. the tame, as well as the wild; and alfothe birds. On the many fmall iflands
on the weftern coaft‘of Norway, I muft obferve there are yearly bred many oxen
much larger, than :thofe on the continent, and fome almoft as big as the Danifh; but
perhaps that may proceed from the very fine pafture they have, and the liberty they
enjoy; for they run wild there, and when they want them againft the feafon of
flaughtering, they either fhoot them, or lay fnares'to catch them. Thefe cattle are
commonly joined by, what they call Udgangfvadre, or Rams, (which are kept there
as guides to the other cattle that are put there) they become old and ftrong on the
fpot, and generally herd with the cattle; and in the winter they help them to fcrape

away the fnow and clear the grafs: but as they have the command, they don’t fuffer
the other cattle to feed, till they have pretty well fatisfied themfelv¢s.

well-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

well-tafted *.| As for milk and butter, our cows afford but little,
according to their fize, about a gallon of milk a day at moft, but
this is very good; yet that depends upon their grafing 5 and, as
I have before taken notice, we have as good butter as any where,
excepting in Marfk Landeme. . The peafant prepares for himfelf
milk, butter and cheefe, in different quantities, according to his
palate and fancy ; and, particularly in fummer, his common drink
is whey. As the cows each give a- little, they keep fo many the
more, and turn them out in the fummer feveral miles diftant, to
places called faeters, on the high rocks; where they keep a
woman-fervant in a hut to watch them. In the {pring, when
they are firft turn’d out, they make a large fire, which they call
Boe Ild, in the fields, to which the cattle, from their farm-
yard, all run, particularly in the cold nights, and lay themfelves
round about it; this ufes them to keep together, and to look
for the houfe when they are to be milked. The {mall fpot of
ground that thefe peafants have, is not fufficient for winter pro-
vender for their ftock of cattle; to fupply which, in fummer
they cut off for them the boughs of feveral trees, by cart-loads,
and dry them tied up: in- bundles; and, in the fpring,, they
throw them the leaves and young branches, {prouts and boughs...

In the Northland Manor, and fome towns in this diocefe,

5

the Stranfiddere, which are thofe fettled on the coaft, who have gyantadere,

large fifheries, for want of other food or provender,’» mix*

re a fort of

cods heads, and other fifhes bones together, which the. cowslive by fihh-

; they are

eat with cs good appetite ; but the milk is not good, for no: farmers,
it has a very fifhy {mell+. It is not only fith bones the cows fo. in”

free of any

here eat, but likewife the bones of their own fpecies, which they “”

{wallow greedily, and gnaw them with their teeth as the dogs
would. This fingular circumftance was doubted, and the privy-
counfellor Van Often, who has been governor here at Bergen,
took with him a Norway cow to court, and gave proof of the
fact, to the aftonifhment of the beholders. Nay, the eating of
bones is a cure for the cows of this country, when they have
broke their legs; eating alfo the herb which Th. Bartholin calls
Gramen Offifragum Norv. and in the defcription of which I have
before faid more on this fubject. .

* The Englifh, who are fo partial to their own country, that they will hardly allow
any other to have the advantage in thefe refpeéts, when-they come to Norway, mutt
allow our veal is not inferior to theirs. ed)

+ The Arabians at Balfora, and Indians in the fields of Gomron, alfo feed their
cows with heads of fifhes; tho’ I don’t fay our Norway people have learnt it of them.
J. Bapt. Taverner takes-notice in his Perfian Travels, Cap. vill. p. 93, and cap,
XX. p. 287. Neceflitas maxima magiftra is not feldom alfo Communis magiftra
gentium remotiflimarum.

Part. II. C | The

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

The peafants ufually give the cows daily a little falt, which
faftens the teeth, and whets the ftomach *; and fometimes a falt
herring, which they apprehend is a treat to the cow, as well as to
an human creature. But on the contrary, a falt mackarel, tho’
it be his food, is found pernicious to them, as well as the

pickle,
5 EB CT. TH

_Sheep are called here Smaler }, and in fome places Souer ; they
differ, fo faras I obferve, but little from the Danifh; I therefore
thall not detain myfelf with a defeription of them. There are
fome brought over from England; this has been done with a
view of propagating the Englifh Kind, but they degenerate here,
and in the third or fourth generation they are but very little
preferable to our own. Mr. Peter Dafs acquaints us, in his
Poetical Defcription of Nordland’s Amt. p- 106, that there are
found in the iflands quantities of wild fheep, which never go into
any houfe, or have any thing to do with mankind, excepting
when they are annually catched to be ‘fheared||. He confirms
alfo what has been faid about their fat; that it is found on
the external parts, and that it covers the fleth like a warm
cufhion. 3 |

In regard to the fheep in Farfe, according to Hr. Lucas
Debe’s Account, p. 116, ftanding in the winter under the fnow,
and eating one anorher’s wool, which is perceived above the
fnow by the warm damp that arifes, I fhall not affirm it on my
own knowledge, tho’ it may be believed from many analogous
accidents; and is ftrengthened by Mr. Anderfon, L. C.
§. xxix. who fpeaks of a 'Topho Ovino Norvagico, or a hair-ball, .
which is found in the ftomach of the Norway fheep. It is to
be obferved, that the fame kind of ball is alfo found incows, and

* As for the pernicious epidemic difeafe, which has raged feveral years thro’ moft
parts of Europe, Norway has, thro’ the mercy of the Almighty, been hitherto free
from it; but that the fame, or fome other has been known here (when it pleafed the
Almighty to punifh) is to be feen in Olaus Wormius’s Account in his Mufeum, p.
333, where it ftands, that Anno 1642, died alone in Nordefiord, which has five
' parifhes, upwards of 4000 oxen and cows of the peafants, exclufive of the clergy’s
and others.

+ According to D. Nic. Horrebow’s account, this is the name of a fhepherd in
ffland; but here we callthe fheep So.

| Concerning the before-named Udgangfvadre, or the rams, they take their food,
winter and fummer, on the Nordland Iflands; and I am affured by one of my
correfpondents, that they grow much larger and fatter than any other, and that
their wool is cleaner and better; fo that the owner has the greateft profit or advantage
of them; and that, by a natural inftinét, they take up their quarters at that corner of
the land, from whence the wind will come the next day; which fignal or mark the
{ea-faring people find to be invariably true. g

. is

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWVAY.

is compofed of the hair fwallowed, which fticks to the tongue,
when thefe creatures lick one another. Of fheep’s dung, and the
middle bark of Elder boiled in cream, the Norway peafant pre-
pares a good falve for burns: if the fore be full of matter or
water, then they ftrew the dried dung powdered upon it, which
helps greatly. Goats and kids are hurtful animals to the
woods and trees; the country people here are very fond of, and
keep too many of them*; for they, before all other creatures,
labour to get at food and nourifhment, climbing the rocks, and,
tomen, inacceflible places in the mountains and cliffs, and fteep
heights. Wherever grafs is to be found they will get at it, where
no other grafs-feeding creature can; but fometimes they get them-
felves into fuch a dangerous fituation, that they can neither go
backwards or forwards, up or down. In this cafe the goat runs
to the very edge, and there ftands braying ; the Norway peafant
then, to fave his goat, ventures himfelf often in fuch a manner,
as another man would not for the beft friend; they fuffer them-
felves to be let down by a rope of a hundred fathom or more,
as I have already mentioned in another place.

The beft goats are in Nordland and in Sundmoar ; they run
wild in many places, winter and fummer, in the fields, till they
are ten or twelve years old ; and when the peafant, their owner,
is to catch them, he muft either do it by fome {nare, or thoot
them+. They are fo bold, that if a wolf comes toward them
alone they wont go out of his way 5 and if they have dogs with
them, they will refift a whole herd. They frequently attack
ferpents; and when they are bit by them, the owner warms
their own milk, and wafhes the fore with it: they commonly
revenge themfelves feverely upon the ferpent who bites them ;
for they eat him up, tho’ they plague themfelves a great while

* From Bergen alone there is fhipp’d off eae 72 or 80,000 raw goats fkins,
exclufive of feveral thoufand which are dreffed here for Suffian, Corduan, and Rufiia

leather, fent hence very good; which manufa@ure might here be greatly encouraged,
by dreffing all the fkins here before they are fent out.

‘+ Near Roftad, in the manor of Lattens, there is a flat and naked field, the foil
almoft white, with grey ftripes. The earth here is found, by experience, to have
fomewhat in it of a poifonous quality, fatal to goats and kids, and to them alone,
Other creatures may fafely go over it, but thefe muft not fet a foot upon it; fo foon
as they do they drop down, ftretch out their legs, and their tongue hangs out of
their mouth ; and they die if they have not inftant help. Neither grafs or any green
thing grows upon it; the very ftones have that quality. The Confiftorial Affeffor Frifes
affures us, that in the midft of winter it has not that effect; in autumn it is the
ftrongeft. I don’t know whether this may be afcribed to a damp, as the famous
Grotto del Cane, near the lake Agnano in the Neapolitan dominions, according to

Miffon, and others; who fay, that a dog no fooner {teps in than he dies, if not
immediately dragged out and thrown into that lake. ,

before

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

before they can get him down. After this, they don’t find them-
felves well for feveral days ; but I don’t hear they ever die.

The peafants dry the goats blood, and diffolve it by boiling it
in oil, which they hold to bea good remedy for the Lumbago,

po Cris 7 1y;

There are hogs in Norway, both of the long and fhort-bodied
kind, but few, fince they cannot, like the reft of the peafant’s
ftock, be drove to a diftance to feeters, but muft be kept near the
houfe, where their food comes too dear; particularly in thofe
grounds where there are no oak or fir-woods for them to feed on
the fruits; for which reafon a great deal of bacon is brought
hither from Denmark. |

Leaves and boughs of elm-trees are ufed for winter food here
for many beafts, but the hogs thrive upon them better than any.
There are no wild hogs here.

Of dogs we have here, asin other places, both large and {mall,
brought up to be houfe-dogs, to watch and to drive the cattle, and -
to protect them againft the wild beafts. Some are ratfed for the
chafe, and particularly for bear-hunting: for this purpofe they
ufe fmall dogs, for the creature can’t fo eafily lay hold on them ;
and they are alfo moft afraid of fuch, for reafons I fhall give when
I come to treat of the bear. — | |

In Nordland they chiefly train up their dogs to catch birds, and
‘to go where a man would not be able to follow them, on the fteep
flopes on the fides of the fields *. They are likewife ufed to watch,
in the night, the Bergen merchants counting and warehoufes, as
they do in Dantzig and St. Malo’s. ‘The large and furly kind
are kept for this Purpofe ; in the day-time they are peaceable
enough, but when on the watch as furious as wolves. We have
cats both tame and wild; the latter are very large, and their
fkins bear a good price; “they live by catching birds upon the
trees; they fteal upon them, and then feize them by a fudden

leap 7.

* At Roft Verven, and other places in Nordland, where they have very advan- - -

tageous birding, each farmer keeps twelve, fourteen, or fixteen fuch bird-dogs; they
are fmall, long and lank, with fhort legs. ‘This kind of hunting is fometimes the. beit
part of the maintenance of many of thefe farmers ; and they quarrel very often about
the number of their dogs. See farther relating here to cap. iv. §. 2. in the Defcription
of the Landfugle. . : aay

+ Lakatt fera maculofa folis Norvegis nota hoc nomine, tot enim Catti regionis Nor-
vegicas obfiderit tam varii generis ut vix nominibus inveniendis fufficere poffimus.

O Sperling in Notis ad Teftament. Abfalonis, p. 147.

SEC T.

: *
Orr cy

F340
Rime he

Ay Aw Ug uP
Pace ie

Cw. AS SPC a

LOE

LOU

’
Fhe

ly.

whe

we

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWVAY.

SP eGicl-ad We

Wild beafts ferviceable to mankind for food or cloathing, “ind Deer.

thofe intended’for his punifhment by rapine, are found alfo native
in Norway. And firft I fhall {peak of the common Deer, which
live in (Ofterlandet) the eaft country, only on the weft fide towards
the fea. In ‘the diocefe of Bergen and Tronheim, ‘where they
formerly were frequent, ‘they are of late years ‘much {carcer’;
for the wolves have almoft ‘entirely deftroyed them in Oplandene;

_and have now, for about thirty years, crofled the File-Field,

vaft mountain, and annually devour numbers ; and we frequently

find the fkeletons wellspick’d in the open fields. “ There-‘aré,

however, fome ftill both on the iflands’and 6n the cohtinent? © The
fine Adel-Hiorte, or Red-deer, 18 as large aS. 2 mid dle-fi ze d horfe,

with confiderable large horns. The farmets fhoot them ia

winter, being the belt time to keép them, and ‘carty them ta
town; and if they have no opportunity, they hide them undet
the fhow*, and live -wpon them themfelves, and have a good
price for the hide and herns. Sometimes it happens that the
harts and hinds, in little herds, fwim over pretty broad waters,
betwixt the continent. and the iflands 5 to accomplifh which,
they very orderly help one another, by refting their heads. on
each others rumps; and when the foremoft is tired he retreats
to the laft, leaving the fiext to him forémoft. © Raddyr } are
only found in Borgefyflel and Nummmedale. | sages

Hares are frequent in Norway, and are very cheap in winter.
They are fmaller than in Denmark, and change colour, in the
cold feafon, from brown or grey, to {iow white. pe irae aC

In the woods they catch micé' like cats, and purfue them under
the {now ; they ofherwife in neceffity live upon the birch catkiis.
Rabbits, which are of the hare kind, are found but in very few
places; wehave them white and grey.

SEC T..VL.

Elfdyr, Elkdeer, which “ate alfo called Elling ||, are feéh in nik.

the parith of Fiorden, viz. at Ringerige and Romerige, but not

* Sometimes they make ufe of fubterraneous caverns to this purpofe, where. the
cold is exceflive ; particularly the Hardangufke Poachers make ule of a cave in the
parith of Odde; ‘near Sandvend-houfe, which anfwéts to its name Kold-Hull, ‘for
nobody can go in; in’ the hotteft fumimers day, 100 ftéps, before their breath is
taken away, and they mouft inftantly return. This is a fine place to keep the game
or venifon a long while. bh = pe: ' See

t Rediur of the Swedes ; the Ree-buck. ‘Fhe Capra; Capreolus, and Dorcas of
authors, | | ). Jasna) 301 i

| Atlg of the Swedes; the Elk. Ace Of authors: + : 3

Part. Il, | " in

9

Ge;

Rein-deer,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA4Y

in great quantity: their make is betwixt the horfe and {tag,
and they are hence called by: fome Equicervos. They are very
long-legged, infornuch, ‘that’ a man may ftand upright under
their belly: they are of an afh-colour; and on their head they

have horns like the deer, but not fo long and round ; but flat and —

broad, with {mall points about the edge. It is a harmlefs inno-

cent creature, and keeps near the houfes in winter. The meat
taftes pretty much like venifon, and the hide fells for a good
price ; it is counted the fineft and ftrongeft leather for foldiers
habits, in the place of buff; but the price is lefs fince horfe and

oxen hides are drefled the fame way for buff-leather. The hoof

of this creature is cloven, as cows; and there are often rings
made of it, which are faid to be good for the. cramp, and for
epileptic diforders.. This is on the principle of Curatio per
contrarium; for this beaft is often troubled with that diforder,
and cures itfelf, they fay, by ftretching his right hind-foot to his
ear*, and fcratching himfelf with it. Their principal food is elm
and afp-leaves, as long as they can be had. That Monf. Marti-
niere, in his voyage on Nord, cap. xiv. and feveral other places,
confounds the Elk-deer with the Rein-deer furprizes me, for the
difference is very great and evident. | i etwas
Reenfdyr, Rein-deer, or; according to the old manner. of
writing, Hrein Dyr, is a fpecies of ftag, that properly belongs
to thefe northern countries ; and, as far as I know, are not

found any where elfe ; they will not thrive or generate any where

elfe.- Tho’ the naturalizing them has been often attempted,
and they have been tranfported abroad to the great and rich
for their curiofity, and to propagate their kind in other parts.
This will always be a vain attempt, for no, nourifhment can be
found any where elfe that will keep them alive ; fo that they have
all perifhed. Perhaps alfo the want of their native air, fuch as
they find in the high hills and mountains here, has been
deftruGiive to them. See Happelel Relat. Curiof: Tom. IV.
P. Il. p. 595, & feq. The fhape or make of the Rein-deer
refembles the hart, and their horns + are covered with a furr,
and

* Dodt. Mich. Bernh. Valentini, in. his Mufeum Mufeorum, p. 429, declares this
to be a fable, and cautions (upon the fame occafion) all preachers, that they do not
botrow of Frantzio, in his Hiftor. Animalum, and other credulous authors ill-founded

fimilies; for fuch mifunderftandings weaken the word of God, where it is intended

to be confirmed or eftablifhed. |
+ Errat omnino Thevetus, qui in Cofmographia fua, apud Norvegos, Finmarkos
& Mofcovitas, unicornem facit rangiferum: errant fimiliter Olaus Magnus, Gefnerus,
& Jonftonius, qui tricornem depingunt. Olig. Jacob. Muf. Reg. Sect. 1. p. 7.
When the Rein-deer fheds his horns, and gets new ones inthe ftead, they appear at

firft to be covered with a fort of fkin; and, till they come to a finger’s length, =
: Q

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.
and the branches are turned forwards as well as backwards. In
this diocefe, as well as other places, they run wild about the
country, and are fhot and fold like other game ; their flefh is
very delicate, fomething drier than the hart; and their hide,
which is fine and foft, is very much fought for by the curriers,
tanners, and leather-dreflers. They run at Harangerfke Snee-
field in flocks of one, two, or three hundred together; fo that
with one fhot you may kill three or four. If they are fhot in
the middle of the flock the dead will then be trod to pieces, and
be of no benefit; for which reafon they generally watch the
ftragglers, and thofe that run at the fides. The Rein-deers
generally take their courfe againft the wind ; fo that when there
is a weft wind, the Hardankerfke farmer is fure enough of
having good fport with them; they come then from the eaft
fide of the country. When he has killed a number, what he
cannot fell frefh, he falts for winter provifion, thereby faving his
cattle (or, as they exprefs it, their Slaughter-Creatures, which
are oxen and cows). In Finmark, particular in that long country
called Kolen, which borders upon Sweden, the Rein-deer abound
moft, not only wild, but alfo tame; and they are the Fin-
lappernes, or Finlaplanders greateft, and almoft only riches;
for they live upon their meat, milk and cheefe ; they make
cloathing, tents, and bed-coverings of their tkins; of the ten-
dons they make theirfowing-thread. Many a man has from fix
or eight hundred to a thoufand of thefe creatures, which never
come under cover; they follow the Finlap wherever he ftrolls,
and when they are put to a fledge, tranfport his goods from
one dwelling to another. They provide for themfelves, and
live chiefly upon the leaves and buds of trees, on the birch
catkins, and upon mofs*, which in winter they fcrape for under
the {now, and at laft get it. They are a neat, clean, brik,
entertaining creature, and fupport themfelves on very little
nourifhment. Dogs brought up for the purpofe are their leaders,
protectors, and even are as mafters to corre them. The wolf
is their greateft enemy, yet they will defend themfelves, in
fome meafure, with their horns, as long as they keep together.

fo foft, that they may be cut with a knife like a faufage, and are delicate eating, even
raw. This we have from the huntfmens account ; who, when they are far out in the
country, and are pinched for food, eat thefe; which fatisfy both their hunger and thirft,
When the horns grow bigger, there breeds within the fkin a kind of worm, which
eats away the root. The Rein-deer has over his eye-lids a kind of fkin, through
which he peeps, when otherwife, in the hard fhowers of fnow, he would be obliged to
fhut his eyes entirely: a very great proof of the Creator’s omnifcience and benevolence,
in providing for each creature’s wants, acccording to its deftin’d manner of living,
* Particularly a white dry mofs, called thence Rein-deer mofs,

In

il

2

Bears.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

_In warm-weather they are tormented with a fort of fly, which
lays its eggsiunder their fkin, which produces a worm, which
eats itfelf{.out,; and then is transformed imto a large fly, according
to Hr..de la'Mortray and Linnzeus’s obfervations. More relating
to their nature and manner, and the Finlaps ceconomy with
them, may be found: in Hr, Peder Hogftrom’s Account of Lap-
marck, p. 223, feq. © .

ing Be a oh

From ufeful creatures I proceed to the hurtful, which we call
here by the name of Udyr; and I fhall firft treat of the Biorn,
or Bears; themale of which, according to the peafant’s dialect,
is called Bamfin, and the She-bear, Bingfen.

_ They are found all over the country of Norway, but are moft
frequent inthe dioeefe-of Bergen and Tronheim: there are here
two fpecies of them; viz. the Hefte Biorn, or Horfe-bear, the
largelt ; and the Myre Biorn, the leaft*. Both of thefe are a
fierce, ravenous, | {trong, and cunning creature 5 the countryman
allows then too much, and himfelf too little, by giving them
the wit of:two, and firength of feven men, The colour of the
hair’ of the -Norvegian Bear is either dark, or a light brown 5
fometimes filyer grey. at the ends, which is the beautifulleft.
Their -head. is: fomething like a hog’s, and they have much fuch
a fnout. hey have fmall eyes, fhort ears, a wide fwallow, and
{trong loins ; but their greateft ftrength is in their fore-legs and
& 5 greater wrengtny &

paws. On-my annual vifitation-journies, which have moftly
contributed to’ my collection for this work, I have been ufed to
ftop by, the way, and amufe myfelf with the farmers, entering
into converfation with them concerning the properties of various
« Ol. Wormius gives three forts of Bears to Norway: In Norvegia tria genera
urforum obfervarunt ; primum maximum quod non plane nigrum fed fulvum eft, non
adeo- nocuum ut reliqua genera, graminibus enim & arborum foliis vefcitur unde
illis, Greefs-dyr yocatur, & in locis defertis & fylvis vaftiffimis ftabulari. Sequi nucibus
& glandibus faginare folet, antequam ingruat hiems. Secundum genus minus eft &
nigrius, carnivorum equis. aliifque animalibus, infeftum, ' Hdgiers Dyr vocant voracifli-
mum animal, quod licet graminibus & foliis etiam vefcatur, circa autumnum tamen
armentis infidiatur. ‘Tertium minimum nocuum tamen Myre Biorn vocant, quod
formicis dele@tetur earumque nidos, evertere foleat iis ut potiatur. Nos quartum genus
addendum cenfemus alborum nempe urforum, quod aquaticum vel amphibium eft.
pifcibus gaudens, & Groenlandia peculiare, Mufeum Vormian, p. 318.

This Jatt fort, i. e. ‘the white Bear; is-faid'to be very fierce and ravenous. Thorm.

' Torf fays, that Anno 1321, one of thofe killed and-devoured eight men before they

could deftroy him, N: Py IV. L. TX, p.'455. Frid. Martens gives an account in his
Spitzberg Travels, cap. iv. p, 73, that thefe white Bears have very long hair hanging
down ; are larger, and in the fhape of their limbs differ fomewhat from the reft of the
kind. They float about at fea upon great flakes of ice, and fometimes land in countries
they don’t belongto. © Rola,

beafts,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 13

beaft, birds and fifhes, found among them: but tho’
{portimen and anglers hiftories are liable to be doubted, and
ought not to be admitted as authentick, without very full and
further proof; yet I have, from many corroborating accounts,
gathered among thefe people feveral credible fats, as will be feen
in the following pages. 7

The Bear, which occafioned this fhort digreffion, is faid to carry Panicolarities
her young but a month; and therefore, like the dog-kind, which * °°
alfo haftes for the birth, brings forth two or three. in number,
blind and naked, and {mall as mice, each in form like a mere
lump; which the mother continually licks, till it expands or
unfolds itfelf, according to the proverb, Lambendo ficut urfa
catulos. Then they fay fhe holds them in her paws to her breaft,
to warm them, according to the manner of birds, which Ol.
Magnus has alfo obferved ; but fome are of opinion it is to give
them fuck, as their paps ftand pretty high on the fore-part of
their body. While thefe young ones are bringing up it is moft Dangerous
dangerous to meet the old ones, for then they will attack, whil oe seat,
at other times they are only upon the defenfive againft, mankind,
excepting it be a pregnant woman, whofe condition they know by
icent or by inftin@, and with all their might will ftrive to get
the foetus, which is a delicious morfel to them, if it happens to
bea male. <A certain clergyman that related this to me, would
not believe it himfelf, till he faw an experiment with a young
and tame Bear, which he had faftened in his yard; and till then
had not perceived that he had been guilty of any mifchief:
but one time leading a woman with child almoft up to him, he
began to make an uncommon noife; he roared, and tore about.
him fo, that they were obliged to fhoot him inftantly. A clergy-
man’s wife alfo, inSogne-Fiorden, related to me the danger that
her hufband found her in (fhe being alfo big with child). He
returning home on a Summer’s evening, faw a Bear trying and
taking all the pains he could to break open the door of her bed-=
chamber, where fhe lay in the greateft anguifh, hearing him
roaring and jumping in vain up at the window, which fortunately
was too high from the ground for him. From this it is to be
obferved, that if any of thofe fhepherdefles, or Giate-Tous, which
I have mentioned, who are a whole Summer in the country in
their feeterhut, lofes her virtue, and becomes pregnant, fhe then
endangers her life, as well as the child’s doubly.
_ Otherwife thele poor creatures are fo hardy and intrepid,
that they will often purfue a Bear, hollowing, with fticks in
their hands, and hunt him till he leaves his prey behind, and

Part II. E which

14

The Bears
manner of

feeding.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW4Y.

which he feldom fails todo. So the all-wife God has.ordered it,
that in fome meafure the very fierceft creatures fhall be under a
fear for mankind *. , oe hiss 1) dome ectefpenes
It has never been known, that a Bear hurts any child; his
food in neceflity is roots, grafs, and greens, and particularly the
Angelica or Quanne, which grows here, and the Multebcer,
Tytteboer, Bramboer and Ronneboér, when he can lay hold or
reach them, on the extremity of the bufh; and tho’ he fometimes
tumbles down in the attempt, he breaks off the branches. How-
ever, what fuits his palate beft is animal food ; the fefh of theep,
goats, cows and horfes; which laft, as I have before vobferved,
often conquer him. a en tishreeb ha
His attack is made with his fore=paws, and he ufes not his
mouth till he is mafter of the creature, and then he fucks the
blood, and afterwards drags the ‘carcafe to his den: 1f the road

to this be up hill, or through bufhes, that he cannot drag the

prey eafily along, he then has been feen to take the whole car-
cafe in his fore-paws, walking on his hind-legs only. He has
been feen alfo going upright, on plain ground, hugging the
whole body of a large animal ; from which, among other things,
you may judge of his great ftrength. |

' He does'not lay hold of any ftrange dead carcafe, like the
wolf, but chufes to be butcher to himfelf, where he is to eat.
He does not bite and tear like the wolf, and is not near-fo
much dreaded: He mafters the wolf, and corrects him; > and
therefore that creature does not like to ftay in his neighbour-
hood. I was told from Bordne in Rogfund, that an old Grafs-
bear was many years known to follow the herds like their guard,
and ftood. often tamely by, as the maid was milking ; and always
drove the wolf away. He did-no hurt to any, only in Autumn,
when he was almoft going to look for his den, he would take a
kid or a fheep, «as if, per contractum tacitum, accorderade
fammer’s wages; but: I doubt if there are many of his kind
that ufe that difcretion. They fay, however, for certain, that in
his proper jurifdiGtion, or the place’ where he ufually refides, he
will take but.one piece fromaman.

* Tis faid, that the African.lions are fometimes. in fuch a temper, that the fhep-
herdefs may hunt them, and drive them about with a ftick.. J’ay lu dans quelques
defcriptions de ce pays-cy, que les femmes peuvent fe familiarifer avec le lion fans
danger, & qu’en prenant un baton & J’appellant Tahanne, ce qui fignifie cocu, ou
de quelque autre nomsfemblable, elles luy font perdre fa ferocité, &c, Il eft poffible,
que cela arrive lorfque ces animaux ont bien repu, car alors perdent leur courage. Shaw
Voyages du Levant, To. p. 316, 1 Suite monereirw | oe

_

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.

_ Of this creature’s prudence and difcretion, they give innumer-
able inftances: among many; this feems to me moft fingular and
moft credible ; out:of the whole flock of cows, he picks out that
which hath the bell round her:neck, which, by running, generally
gives the fignal of danger. At this bell he is mightily offended,
he -tears it, off, and if it isnot. a caft bell, but a hammer’d
one, he'll {trike it fo flat,! with his paw, that it fhall never {peak
or vex himagain. He will: fire off a gun, when he has taken it
from the huntfman; and he -fhews a great deal of cunning in
faving his life, when fet upon’ by two or three huntimen
together. en a noistookediti est *. et
When the firft has miffed his aim, or flightly wounded him,
he then lays hold.of the unarmed man, and hugs him, retreat-
ing upon his hind legs as far as he) can; knowing very well
the others will not fhoot him, for fearof fhooting their compa-
nion; he then throws himfelf down 2 bank, a hill, or into a
ditch, and there leaves the man, dead or alive; fometimes it kills
both. If he finds himfelf mortally wounded, then he endeavours
to rob the huntfman of his hide, which he knows he comes for,
and therefore lays hold of a very large ftone, and if there be. a
deep water near him, he plunges himfelf into it. ah
» Bears are likewile good’ fwimmers; they often go into the
rivers, and catch fifh: their broad paws are very fit to row with: ''
. I fhall not determine whether-it jis poflible, that-the white
Bears, feen in Finmarck, according to: Hr. J. Rami. “his account}
are of Greenland extraction ; or on the poflibility ‘of. their ever
having {wam over the fea fuch a great way, his clumfy body
growing, tired. {wimming -crofs a water of a league; iandoifi he
fees a boat; by the way, she will go: after'it; if it be*only to
reft -himfelf.; if he gets) in, he will fit inthe ftern quite quiet
and peaceable; the farmer however-does. not care to let’ him’ inj
if he can play his oars faft enough; but if he has’an‘axcin the
boat, the Bear's paws are fure)to. {mart)) or’ pay forit, as foon as
he, touches the! weflelid of cid te tind vertons lod: basi

>

. TS

Prudence and
d {cretion.

_ Soon after Michaelmas the Bear feeks his den, which is ‘hig winter re.
Winter-quarters; this. he finds under fome mountain, where:the ““

rocks shangs over,;,or in fome natural cavern’ Here he makes
hinifelfia large and: foft bedijof' mofs leaves, and the like.) He
hides|.the opening» with ‘branches and boughs of trees, and Jets
it {now up, fo that he is not eafily found, but by thofe that’
are taught, or have thoroughly learnt, his cuftoms, In his den
he thall be taken, fometimes for a week, with a heavy. dleep;
that-by fhooting at him, and even wounding him, he'll hardly

awake ;

#6

Bear hunting.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORY AY:

awake *; and what 1s moft furprizing is, that he will lye there
the whole’ Winter; without eating or drinking ; and’ yet, aca
cording. to all accounts, when he goesout' in the Spring of the
year, he is found to be fatteft: according to the common faying;
he has fuck’d his paws, or held them to his mouth; he fucks
them till they make a white froth, which makes them fore and
tender; fo that, in the fpring, when he goes out, he can hardly
bear to tread upon a ftone; he is at this feafon lame, and hops
about for fome time ; and of this the huntfmen takes advantage.
Fis ftomach is alfo fick at this feafon, and drawn up of his’
long fafting ; and to cure it, he looks out for an ant’s ‘hillock;
of which he {wallows up the whole ; this {cowers his infide, and
cleanfes and {trengthens his ftomach. As long as the Bear lies in
his den or hole, he is the property of the proprietor of the wood,
according to the Norway law, p. 832. When ‘the farmers go
out a Bear-fhooting, they gocommonly two or three in company,
that they may affift one another, if they mis their aim: they
force him, and tire him, firft with their fmall-dogs, which are
broke or brought up to that {port ; and of this kind he is moft
afraid, for they can run under his belly, and will lay hold of
his genitals ; larger dogs he lays hold of at once, and tears them
to pieces. But when the little ones have tired him, with their
running and jumping about him, he then gets up to the fide of
atree, or rock, and fets his back againft it, and tears up the ftones
and earth, and throws fome at one, and fomeat another, to defend
himfelf. At this time it is that the markfman is to give him
a ballor two with his rifled gun: if he recetves it in his cheft,
or under the fhoulder, or in his ear, he falls: but any other
wound makes him the fiercer, and he will fly upon the fhooter,
who muft defend himfelf, as well as he can, with his empty gun,
in which he ought to have a bayonet fixed, as is cuftomary in
Switzerland and Tyrol, to keep him off. | | =i
If the fhooter or huntfman wants this, and have not a fecond
at hand to fend another ball at him, he has nothing to defend
himfelf with but his knife, which is like adagger, and hangs

- by a brafs chain, always on the fide of a Norwegian farmer ; this

he takes: crofs) ways in his hand, to run down the Bears opened
throat. {If he does not ficcéed. in:this, his life is loft, the Bear
fleas his fkin off; and pulls the hair and flefh over his head and

ears, face and ‘all, |

-* Concerning, this, Ol. Berrichius has given us his judicious thoughts, in oratione
de animalibus -hyeme fopitis. al Se ae

Some-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAT.

Sometimes, -however, the Beards contented with beating his

conquer’d enemy with his paws,| till he {eems to be'dead; and -

when he perceives that he draws no more breath, he’ll leave him$
fometimes that way a life is faved. If the farmer conquers, which
generally happens, he then fleas the Bear, and fixes up the head,
as a trophy of viétory, and proof of this courage, on his houfe.
I have fometimes een : farmers houfes, ornamented with three of
four-at atime, A hide willdell for four, five, or ‘fix tixdollars.
They fay the flefh does not 'tafte badly, but ’tis rather too much
~ like liver, excepting when it is falted; a fine fat Bear ham is
generally commended, and does 'a‘hoft:asimuch honour, ata wed«
ding, as it gives pleafure and fatisfaction 'to the guefts *.

SEC T. . Vill

19

“The Wolf, Ulven, which is otherwife called Varg, alias Graas the Wott

been, 1s now become the plague and torment ‘of this country.
In former times it is not known that-a Wolf ever was feen in

the diocefe.of Bergen. Filefield was then the bound of this creas _

ture’s devaftations ; he never paffed that.mountain, till about ‘the
year 1718, or at the end of the daft war, at which time the
armies marched; and all manner of neceflaries of life were
tranfported over that ‘mountain in the Winter, and the infatiable
Wolf followed the feent of the provifion. By that means this
creature was firft drawn over thofe mountains, and now we are
no where fecure, except on the ilands':: for the Winters are not
near fo fharp (asI have before obferved.) ‘Near the fea it is much
milder than elfewhere, and feldom {0 fevere as to freeze over the
water to the iflands, with iceenough for them to go upon.

The Wolf is fhaped not unlike toa darge dog, but its teeth
and claws are much ftronger: they are in colour commonly grey,
but in the mountains in Winter white ; they have five or fix
young ata time; and we fet ourfelves moftrearneftly to deftroy
_them. The old ones are very carelefs, and-don’t feek for fafe
places in the woods to hide themfelves, as the bear does; but

run about in flocks on the mountains, and barren places}. The worr's food

Wolf’s proper food or fubfiftence is prey of all fach creatures as
he can conquer, even dogs; for in hard Winters he will run into
the farmers yards after, and fometimes ‘devour them at the kennel,

* Bear’s flefh is reckoned one ‘of the greateft rarities among the Chinefe. According
to Pere du Hlalde’s account, the emperor will fend 50 or 100 leagues into Tartary, to
fetch them, againft a great entertainment.

T Hr. C. Linneeus is of ‘another opinion, according to his Fauna Suecia, p. 5.
' where he fays, that the Wolf’s proper habitation is in'woods, WHiabirat‘hodie vulgaris
in filvis, ante 26-annos rarius animal in Suecia.

Parr Il. FR if

18

God’s provi-
dence.

Danger.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORIVAY.

if chained tolit; and, in other cafes, inftead of taking a piece,
and going away with it, he kills every thing he can, and leaves
what he don’t eat behind him. Fierce as the Wolf is, he is
daunted when he meets the leaft refiftance ; and only bold and
daring againft thofe that he puts to flight: to thofe that are
afraid of ‘him he is mercilefS: but as long as even the deer is
upon the defence he does not attack him; and it has been often
feen, that not only a cow, but evena goat, when it has turn’d
again{t him, and butted at him, or pufhed at him with its horns,
have maintained their ground againft him, and put him to flight.
In this cafe the Wolf is not unlike the evil fpirit, whom the
word of God reprefents to us to be a coward, and only to appear
bold againft the unbelievers fear ; as it {tands in fcripture, Stand
up againft him, and he fhall fly from you ; refift the devil, and he

_fhall flee from you. |

-, The Wolf can ‘fuffer hunger°and hardfhips a long time; ‘which
is common for beafts of prey, according to the Creator’s wife infti-
tution ; for their provifion is uncertain, and comes accidentally,
and at irregular times+. When his hunger becomes too great
he'll eat clay, if-it be to be had ; and this, as it is not to he
digefted, remains in his guts till he gets flefh, and that works it
off violently; and then he is heard to howl moft difmally for
pain ; and if he is watched upon this, and his excrements are
found, they are mixed with a wooly matter, which many’ havé
affured me. Near Vandelven on Sundmoer a farmer faw a Wolf
that appeared very fick, and fo faint, that he could hardly move
along. It gave the farmer double courage, who mended his pace,

got up to him, and killed him. He had the curiofity to open

him and fee what was the matter, and he found his ftomach fille
with mofs from the cliffs, and birch tops. |
Hunger, fharp as a {word, makes the Wolf, in the Winter
feafon, much bolder than I ever knew him to be; fo that he will
often, and particularly upon the ice, take away a horfe from a
fledge: for this Reafon travellers, at that time of the year, are
generally provided with fire-arms. The late bifhop Munck in
chriftianity would not believe there was any occafion for thefe ;
and perfuaded a clergyman of his diocefs, whofe name was Hr.
Kolbiorn (Father of the eminent Kolbiorns, fo diftinguifhed in
the late war by their valour and courage at Fridrickfhald) that
it did not become his funétion to carry a gun with him when he

. + Inediam diutiffime tolerat Lupus, ut & alia omnia carnivora licet voraciffima
magna, utique natura providentia quoniam efca non femper in promptu eit. Ray
Synop. Quad. p. 174. fi |
’ travelled

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 19

travelled to church, or on ecclefiaftical affairs. But: the bifhop —
got the better of this prejudice, on being taken over the ice by
this very minifter, on one of his vifitation journies. They were
in expectation of feeing a Wolf, which accordingly appear’d,
The bifhop, at fight of him, began to be frighten’d, and afk'd
Mr. Kolbiorn if he had not his gun; and, from this.day, he was
convinced that it was both neceflary and becoming. .* To deftroy Manner of de=
the Wolves we ufe the fame means as again{ft the Bears ; inftru- *°y'78"=-
ments to blow them up, charg’d guns, laid by a carcafe, that go
off with the leaft touch; which is called Gildre, and is fpoke of
in the Norvegian Law Book, p. 834. Sometimes, tho’, at pre-
fent, not very often, they have recourfe to what they call Ulve
Huer: thefe are very deep and fteep holes, dug in the ground,
with a narrow place to pafs through, and hid with a falfe cover,
like a trap-door, which falls down, and fhuts up again of itfelf.
In thefe pits the Wolf is fometimes found in a corner, along with
other beafts, whom, out of fear, he does not touch ; and it fome-
times happens that the peafants, having fallen in the trap, are
found there, fitting along with him: for .this reafon, there are
firiGt orders to give: notice in all the neighbourhood, when’ and
where fuch an ulve huer is dug. Die

Another way of deftroying them is by means of a fort of
yellow mofs, found upon the fir-trees, which has a poifonotis
quality; this is always fatal to.Wolves; it is put into a ¢arcafe
and laid for them. In fome places in this province, where there
4s found an Eid, that is, a {mall ifthmus, or any other narrow
paflage, we are ufed to tie a ftraw rope a-crofs, which the Wolf
at firft. avoids; tho’ fome fay it is not long before it becomes fa-
miliar to tt, and then he lofes the fear. . *
_ Some people make a powder of dried Wolf’s flefh, and fay it
is good to create an appetite; whether it is fo, or not, I’ do
not pretend:to know ; but that Wolves, as well as foxes lungs
re good foria confumptiony is to be concluded from the peCtoral
fyrup assis fold at the apothecaries, by the name of Loch de
pulmone vulpis; wherein the principal ingredients are Wolves
and foxes lungs, tho’ there are many other things. We may alfo
look for the virtues of Wolves lungs in Paracelfi qualitatibus
occultis ; but this now meets with but little approbation.

_ Formerly the moft valiant of our heroes in this country made
their doublets, or cloaks of war, called here Beerfercke, of

* To frighten the Wolf and bears from the herds, the fhepherdeffes have a horn

to blow, | which isiheard a ‘great way ; and on hunting the Wolves, they ufe the fame,
as well as pipes and drums. if

ap Wolves

Zo

Goupe, or
Loffen.

WATURAL. HISTORY of VORMWUY

Wolves dkins, ito appear the more terrible; fo fays Thorm, Torf.
In primis Berferki pellibus Lupinis, adterrorem :hoftibus ‘incun
tiendum, indnti,;:& externi amicti, quoties pugnandum ‘efizé,
univerfum sagmen, .ante acei principia praibant, ut hoftilem
infultum. propulfarent :ac iprocul dimoverent. Hift. Norv: P. IL
Li. Isc. ve p..g. Invanother place the fame author ‘tells us thefe
furr’d fkins were ufed for a coat of armour; becaufe they ‘could
not eafily be cut through. | 20 he eee
* Loffen, which in Norway ‘diale& is called:-Goupe,. is ithe
third among this country’s-hurtful creatures. It is ‘fomething
{maller than a wolf, but .as fierce and dangerous:. it bites and

‘tears all to pieces that it can mafter. This creature’s tkin js of a

light grey or white, with dark fpots;\a fingle fkin is fometimes
fold for’ 8, 10, or 12 ‘rixdollars, according to the goodnef':
their claws are very fharp and crooked, turning in like a cat’s.
They are, indeed, of the cat or tyger kind; their backs bend
like them, efpecially when they are in their holes looking fox
prey among the creatures that’ pafs by ; they throw themfelves
at once on their prey, as foon as in reach.’ When a:Goupe is
attacked by adog, he throws |himfelf immediately on. his back,
in the manner of a cat, and turns up his fore legs, to'be the
better able to defend -himfelf: the dog on ‘this Jays hold, and
thinks. himfelf conqueror; but the Goupe then makes ufe of
his {harp claws fo.effectually, that he fleas the enemy alive,

We have in Norway three dorts of Goupes ; the Wolf-Goupe,

the Fox-Goupe, and the.Cat-Goupe ; fo called from their refem-

‘Their proper-
ties.

blance to thefe feveral creatures $+. They go out like the wolf,
excepting that ‘they don’t, ‘like him, appear fo publickly in the
open flat country, but keep’ more in the woods, and lurk jn
holes in the earth, which they. dig for themfelves, deep and
winding; but they iaré drove out of them with fireand {moak.
In the day-time they'll lie hid, and fieal upon their prey, as has
been already obferv’d, which they can fee at great diftance ; for
their fight 1s fharp. |

* The Lynx. ‘The Lupus Cervarius and Lynx -of authors. .

‘+ The laft has the‘fineft and moft precious fkin.; but *tis fcarce half fo big as the
Wolf-Goupe, and is ‘more grey than white, but -cover’d with beautiful black fpots,
wnearly like the panther or tyger. Sce Shaw’s Voyages du Levant, Tom. 1. -p. 318. a
comparifon betwixt the Loffen and leopard. Hr. Gabriel Heiberg, paftor in Nordfiord,
and minifter in.Gloppen, takes notice; among-other obfervations, that according to
feveral informations, there is'another fort.of Loffen, whofe heads are like.aFell, thefe

‘are called Foll-Goupe.
They

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.

_ They are very nice, and of a fheep or goat don’t eat more
than the head or udder; and by this circumftance one knows that
the Loffen has been there. Tho’ they always kill, yet they eat
very little in the encreafing moon; but in the decreafé they are
more ravenous, and will hide or bury the carcaffes like the bear.
The wild cat, which feems, from its afpect, to be of their kind,
is their worft enemy. Its almoft continual employment is to
look out for them in their holes, and fteal their prey from them.
They are very cunning in undermining a fheep-fold, where they
help themfelves very nobly.

It happened lately in fome of thefe that a Goupe was found
out by a fly he-goat, who perceived his fubterraneous work,
watched him narrowly, and as foon as his head came forth, before
the body could be got out, butted him, and gave fuch home
pufhes, that he laid him dead in the grave of his own making.,

It is faid that the Loffen’s claws are good for the cramp, when

wore round the neck; but I cannot affirm it, or affure it to
be fo. A
' | oie Cal Oe

% Foxes, called Reve, are found here frequently ; they are of Fox.

different colours, white, red, and black; the laft are the fierceft,

and their ikins moft valuable: fome of the others, which have

two black ftrokes acrofs their backs, fell alfo at a good price *,
This well-known creature’s other properties I need not here
defcribe ; for thro’ the whole I intend to treat largely upon thofe

creatures only which are peculiar to this country, and diftin@ from.
thofe of Denmark, and moft other places; neverthelefs, as there.

are certain general things, known by more inftances or examples

in one country than another, I fhall fo far take even thefe into
confideration.

And here I muft obférve, that the Norvegian farmer can relate Cunning.

moft ftories of the fagacity and cunning for which the Fox, in.
all countries, is famous; fo that if we,-with certain philofo.
phers, would judge all creatures, notwithftanding their feveral
degrees of fenfe, or what appears in fome degree of refleGtion, to be
machines, this would hold probable leaft of all of the Fox 3 fome

of the before related {tories of the Bear fhew alfo the folly of fuch
a philofophy +. | :

_* From Bergen are exported annually 4000 Foxes fkins, more or lefs.

‘+ Melius philofophari illi videntur, qui rationem aliquam brutis tribuunt. Certe,
nullo negotio, eorum variarum & mirabilium aétionum rationem reddunt. Jo. Cleri-
cus Phyf. |. iv. cap. xii. §. 4. It may not be ill applied here to divide with Hr.

Fleumann, in Act. Philof. ‘Tom, xviii, p, 818. che numbers of fouls under gold, filver
_ and copper. | rit? .

, Part, Il. G The

at

2%

Jerv, or
Vielfrafs.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY
The Swedifh archbifhop, Ol. Magnus, Hit. lib. xviii. c 39,
40. fays of the Fox, All that and much more have we heard of
feen of our own obfervation ; more ftrange things have been re-
lated to me than all authors have written. RESET eet:

‘When he wants to get rid of his fleas without difturbance, he:
takes a bunch of mofs or ftraw in his mouth, and_ goes back-

wards into the water, wading by flow fteps deeper and deeper ;

by which means the fleas have time, and can retire gradually to
the dry places ; at laft to the part of the neck and head which

he alone keeps above water ; and to crown the work, he gathers

all his enemies into the before-faid bunch of ftraw, and then drops
them in the water, and runs away well wafhed and cleaned.
This proje& is fo cunning, that mankind could not teach him
better. Shin .

His long hairy tail, with which nature has not fupply’d him

an vain, he ufes in Norway, among{t other purpofes, to catch

crabs. They are fond of any thing hairy, and general y will lay
hold of it; by which means he draws them afhore.

* When he fees the otter is out on fifhing, he hides himfelf
behind a ftone, and when the other comes afhore to eat his prey,

he comes upon him by a quick and high leap, that the otter,

who otherwife fears not the Fox, is ftartled, and leaves him the
booty. | |

A certain perfon was furprized: on feeing a Fox near a fither=

' man’s houfe, laying a parcel of torfks, or cods heads, all ina

row, and could not conceive what he. was going to do, till he
faw that he hid himfelf behind them, and made a booty of the
firft crow that came for a bit of them. |

SECT. XL

Jerven, or Erven, is one of the beafts: in Norway which few
other countries know farther than by report. In fome places, parti-
cularly Fronhiemfke, where they are moft frequent, they are called
Kola; but the common name Jerv, or Gierv, is given them
Senfu nativo, per excellentiam ; from their violent, greedy, and
voracious difpofition. The Germans have given this creature
alfo the name of Vielfrafs, or Great Eater; and fome in Latin
Gulo f. Its fize and fhape is fomething like a long-bodied dog,

* When the She-Fox is purfued by dogs, and they come pretty near her, the
piffes on her tail, and wifks it in their eyes, which makes them fmart; and then fhe
efcapes. Hans Frids Fl¢mming German Hunt{man, p. 112. | |

+ The Glutton, a creature of the weafel kind. The Gulo of authors ; the Muftela__
rufo fufea medio dorfa nigro. It is a wild notion that the people here in general have

conceived; which is, that ferven is the Bear’s third cub; though fhe brings but feldom
forth more than two at a time.

with

NATURAL HISTORY of VORP AY.
with thick legs, very fharp claws, and teeth ; and he has the
boldnefs to attack every thing he can poflibly conquer among other
creatures. Shiffero fays, that he fifhes in the water ; but in that
he is contradi&ted ‘by Hr. P, Hogftrom, in his Defcription - of

Lapmarck, p.m. 372. He is black, variegated with brown

and yellowith ftreaks: his fkin fhines like damatk ; it is covered
with foft hair, and is very précious; ‘and is well worth the huntf-
man’s while to kill thety without firing, or wounding the ‘kin,
tho’ difficult : they fhoot him with a bow and blunt wooden
arrows, that the fkin, which is the only thing that is valuable,
may not be cut. The beft opportunity of catching him, is when
he, according to his cuftom when gorged, prefles and {queezes
himfelf between two trees which ftand near together. By this
practice he eafes and exonerates his ftomach, which has not time
to digeft what he has fo voracioufly fwallowed. aay:

If this creature finds a carcafe fix times as big as himfelf, he
does not leave off eating as long as there is a mouthful left; he
muft therefore be tormented with fuch an infatiable hunger, that
even a crammd belly does.not abate it; and for this reafon he is
obliged to eafe himfelf by the artifice I have mentioned.
Perhaps he is created for a moral picture,’ or an emblem of thofe
people, of whom the Apoftle fays, That their belly is their
God *, a |
ois eee 1 SA lise DORE a 6

+ Haaren, which is alfo hunted on account of it’s fkin, is like q Maar.

great brown foreft cat. The head or fhout is rather fharper, and
more pointed ; under it’s belly it is of a dark but fhining yellow,
with a fine glofs; but thofe which have this in perfection are
{carce: their bite is bad, and they finell very difagreeably ; they
hide themfelves in hollow trees, and fubfitt by catching wild
mice or birds; after which laft they’ll jump from one branch of
the tree to another. There are two forts of them; the Efpe
Maar, which is the biggeft, and of the lighteft colour; and the
Birke Maar, fmalleft and darkeft ; this is the {carceft, .

* A friend of mine, a man of probity, has affured me from ocular demonftration,
that when the Jerven is catched alive, (which feldom happens) and is chained to a ftone
wall, his ae not decline the ftones and mortar; but that he’ll eat himfelf into
the wall. e is a greedy, but by no means a-nice creature; he eats ‘all that he
can get. bas yee

+ The Marten, a creature alfo of the weafel kind: The Martes of authors; called
alfo Feyna: and by Linnaeus; Muttela fulvo nigricans gula pallida.

SECT. XIIL

24.

Squirrel.

Ermin.

NATURAL HISTORY off VORW4Y.

SECT. Xi.

Egernet, the Squirrel, called here alfo Ikhorn, This is a
well-known creature: it feeds chiefly on hazle-nuts, and other
dry fruits, which it gathers in large quantities during Summer,
for the Winter provifion. This little creature. is grey, and its
well-known skin, called Graa Werck, is much . valued by the
ladies *. They are fhot with blunt arrows, and are catch’d alfo
in {nares and traps, in this manner: they raife a pole againft a
tree, which the Squirrel readily runs up, without regarding the
trap at the end; as it has a bird’s head, or fomething of that
kind, for a bait. Some have dogs to catch them with; on a
chip, or piece of wood, they'll fail crofs a {mall water on this
expedition, and make ufe of their tail fora fail; and with one
foot they'll paddle; and fteer themfelves with the other; and
thus they efcape.fometimes thofe that wait afhore for their landing,
and find themfelves miftaken, by thinking they muft come with
the Wind ps 20h1 nce : |
| | SECT. XIV. ce)
- |) Hermelin Ermin, called here Roefe Cat, becaufe it hides itfelf
in the cracks of rocks, and among heaps of ftones. Some are
of opinion it is the fame which Pliny calls Ponticus Mus ;and Iam
under fome doubt whether it is different in Kind from the Danith
weafel ; the fhape and fize may be known from its well-known
precious white skin, which has a black fpot on the tail: this fur
is now become commoner than in former times; for now in
Bergen there is fcarcely a woman but has a cloak ornamented,

* In Chronico Norvegico,-p. m. 94. Haraldum Erici regem Graafell, a pellibus iftis
grifeis cognomen tuliffe dicitur, quod veftem fuam grifeis pellibus forratam: geftare
ceperit. O. Sperling in notis ad Teftam. Abfolon. p. 115. It ftands in the fame
place that in Vendfyfiel is found a fort of Black Egerne, or Squirrels, which is intro-
duced in Frifers arms...

_ + In Ruffia there is a particular fort of fquirrel, that has fuch wide fkins at their fides,
that, by the help of them, they fly through the air from tree to tree, ufing them as wings,
J. G. du Vernoi has publifhed fome Anatomical Obfervations relating thereto; they are
to be found in Commentar. Academ. Petropolitane, Tom. v. p. 218. under this title :
De Quadrupede Volatili Ruffiz. And more is to be found in the Englith royal fociety’s
Philofophical Tranfactions, Tom. xxxviii. Art: iv. I think that flight is nothing
but a long jump, or leap, which is helped by the long and light tail, as well as the
long hairs and loofe {kins on the fide. I have not been affured that this fort is native
of Norway; though by Car. Linnzeus’s words, it is to be prefumed, who has found
them in Lapland. Sciurus hypochondriis prolixis volitans habitat in Finlandia &
Lapponia, Fauna Suecica, p: 6.. The common fort of Squirrels are found here
in large quantities, and the flefh is not defpifed by the farmers in Valders: it looks:
white, they make foup of it, and fay that the meat is not bad tafted.

|| The Ermin is of the weafel kind; and indeed {carce differs at all from the common.
weafel, except in colour. It is called Hermellanus and Ermeneus by-authors.

. ind faced,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

faced, and many thoroughly line them with it. The Norway
ermin keeps its colour better than any ; it does not grow fo
yellow as the Mufcovy ; for which reafon it is preferred even at
Petersburgh. When king Chriftian I. made his pilgrimage to
Rome, he had a mind to make the pope a handfome prefent of
the produce of his country ; among{t which were feveral Ermin
skins, very excellent. |

Ermins run after mice like cats ; they drag away what they
catch, particularly eggs, which are their niceft delicacy: for this
reafon, it is frequent, in calm weather, to fee the Ermins along
the fhore, fwimming to the {mall iflands, where the water-fowls
eggs are found in great quantities. Ihave been informed as a
certain truth, by thofe that have feen it, that when they have
their young on any of thefe iflands, they'll bring them afhore
to the Continent ona piece of chip, or little bit of wood, the
mother fwimming behind, and with her fnout pufhing it back-
wards and forwards, to get it along. So fmall as this creature
is, it is capable fometimes to deftroy the largeft beaft, as the elk
or bear. It does it in this manner’: when the creature is afleep
the Ermin will creep into his ear, and lay hold with his tharp
teeth fo very faft, that he can’t flip ; upon which, the large ani-
mal begins to run about, and roars, till he has exhaufted him-
felf : at length, being wearied out, he becomes faint, drops, lan-
- guifhes, and dies. In the fame manner he'll fteal himfelf upon
a fleeping (Orn) Eagle and Tiur Fugl, and will let this bird fly
away with him upon its back ; but he continues gnawing, till, by
the great effufion of blood, the bird drops down dead on the
ground, ‘They are fhot with blunt arrows, and catch’d in traps,
or elfe betwixt two flat ftones; one of which is fet up with a
pin, but drops when the thread is pull’d to which the bait is
faftened, and fo {queezes him dead *.

It is faid that this creature is fo cleanly and nice about its white
hair, that he would rather go through the fire than through the
leaft mud and dirt. 1 queftion whether any body has feen him
under the neceflity to declare which he would do; yet where-
ever he goes with his cleanlinefs, he ftinks as bad as the pole-.
cat. This is efpecially obfervable of the Ermins when they pair
themfelves, which often happens; for both fexes are very lafci-
vious. 3 |

tot’ Tt is faid that noife and fhrieking, which puts other wild beafts to flight, makes the
Ermin ftand {till and afterwards, as long as it lafts, he will fhift about, here and
there, but cannot get far. This, if true, is a great advantage to the huntfman.

__ Two ounces of Ermin’s blood, drank warm, is a pretty certain remedy for an
epilepfy, or falling ficknefs, efpecially if it be old. Relata refero.

Part II, H SECT.

25

£6

Beaver.

Wonderful
building of
thoufes.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW4Y.

9B Crt. oy

Beever, Caftor, a Beaver, is an amphibious animal : it lives ia
water as well as on land, and feeks its food generally in ftill
or gently running water. It is found in this country moftly in
Solloer, Ofterdalen, and Jemteland. — Its fhape is like a long-
bodied dog, with fhort legs, a fhort and flat head, {mall round
ears and eyes, a large, thick, and {mooth tail, confifting of many
joints. This part of the Beaver fome call a delicate difh ; the
Roman catholicks reckon it as fifh, not meat, though the reft of
the creature is allowed to be fleth,

On this creature is a bag, in which is the precious caftoreum, |
or caftor of the fhops: with this, and with his fine dark brown
{kin, is carried on a confiderable trade at Elverums fair. That
which I fhall in this part of my work endeavour to explain moft
fully, 1s what belongs to living creatures, with refpe& to their _
drift, inftinét, or inclinations, which they feverally have to cer-
tain things; concerning their confervation, and wherein they feem
to act with a moft cautious refleG@ion, or devife more than
one could think or expect. In no part of the treatife can I have
occafion to be more particular in this refped, than in {peaking
of the Beaver, efpecially on the fubje& of his preparing his habi-
tation: on account of his art in this, in the kingdom of beafts, he
deferves the title of mafter-builder. The manner is this: the
Beaver before-mentioned has a great tail, which weighs feveral,
pounds: this is of the fifh kind and quality, in that degree »
that it cannot bear to be long together out of the water. It
has over the fkin a kind of fifh-fcales, and the hinder legs have
flat goofe-like feet, and are of the fame flefhy nature. For this
reafon the Beaver muft build in fuch manner, that he can always
have his hind part hanging in the water in fome place. which is
kept open all Winter, that he may continually throw his tail

forwards and backwards in the free water.

He cannot always be fure of this advantage, as the water
rifes and falls. For this reafon, to preferve his health, and fuit
his convenience, he builds always at the fide of a water a wooden
houfe, three {tories high, and regularly raifed above one another,
like a little tower; where he and his mate have each their
feparate lodging and Bed. To fell the trees for building of -thefe
houfes, or to repair them when they happen to be deftroyd by ac-
dent, the great and wife Creator has furnifhed this little animal
with a tooth, which feems unproportionably large; 1t 1s of a
finger’s length, and feems as if ground fharp at the one

unlike

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

unlike a boar’s tufk 5 ’tis of a tawny or yellow colour: with
this, as with a fall ax, the Beaver fells any kind of trees, and
prepares the wood for the joices; he fits all together, and then
lays them, or fixes them over one another, fo that they wont
eafily fall. After this, to tranfport thefe building materials to
the fpot, he ufes a moft furprifing addrefs, as I am affur’d by
many who have been witnefs: It is this. A number are
employed on this work together ; and one will fuffer himfelf to
be ufed as a cart, which the others, like horfes, take hold of,
faftening on him by the neck, and dragging him along; for this pur-
pote he firft throws himfelf on his back, with his les up, between
which they lay their already fitted and prepared timber ; and in
that mannér bring it to the fpot where the building is to be
erected, one load after the other *; but this always cofts the firft
a bare back, for it takes all the hair off; which hair and caftoreum
are the two valuable things found on this creature. The hair or
fur, it is well known, is ufed for the fineft hats, as well as for
avery light and foft fort of cloth.

Sue. Cal oniX VE

The Otter, Odder, a well-known creature, which not a little Owen

refembles the beaver, and lives upon all forts of fith: they are

found in Norway, both in falt and frefh waters ; they live in

holes betwixt the rocks; from whence the hunt{man decoys them,
by imitating the voice of their mates. They are very nice, and
will only eat the fatteft fifh: the eagle and crow wait upon the
Otter to take his leavings; unlefs it be a young Otter, and then
the eagle drives him away from his prey. Thefe creatures, when
young, may be tamed and ufed toa houfe, by feeding them with
milk, and they will become daily fithers for their mafter 3 they'll
go out on command, and bring in one fith after the other to the
kitchen. This a very creditable man in this neighbourhood has

* Something of this kindis related of the known Maramots, Marmotis or Murmer-
dyr, in afpect fomething like a cat. The learned cardinal Polignac afcribes, perhaps,
too much; to them, in his Antilucretios,: Lib. VI. lately publifhed, wherein he relates,
that in a civil war betwixt them, the conquered prifoners, after a jure belli, are

fentenced to be flaves to the conqueror; and particularly to be ufed for wageons, to.

bring home their hay and winter provifion ; in the fame manner and pofition as jufk
related of the Beaver, : ?

Protinus ad meffem ducunt fervata ferendam
Mancipia, inverfifque folum premere atque fupinis
Corporibus, tum crura jubent attollere furfam
Quatuor erectis perftent, ut gramina palis

Inde onerant caudaque trahunt animantia plauftra,
Erafoque vias miferorym tergore verrunt,

tried,

27

£

48 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY:

tried, and has affured me of the truth, The only thing that
is ufeful in the Otter is his {kin: this is covered with thick and
Short hair, and keeps out water *.

She T. | catt,

Badger. The Badger, Brock or Greving, which is alfo called here Sviin
Sok, 1s like a {mall hog, with long black or grey hair, and fhort
and crooked legs: he undermines the ground, and lives on mice,
{nakes and infects. The Badger’s bite is bad, and his teeth are
very fharp; where he fixes them he does not loofe his hold, till
he hears the bone crack betwixt his teeth. The penis of the
Badger is, like the fea-calf’s, a hard bone. His enemy the fox,
who is too lazy to dig himfelf a hole, feizes the Badger’s when
he is out, and fills it with fuch a ftench, that the owner never
cares for it afterwards +. ?

SECT. .XVHL. |
Porcupine, or Lhe Porcupine, Pind{wiin, which is called by many Bufte-

deeamiec. Gyvel, 1s fufficiently known What I have to obferve concerning
Cennty cold ae creature is only this, that he conveys himfelf often into the
1s a € ge ° ° : € ° , .

hog as wellas bear’s holes ; and, with his numerous prickles, is fo troublefome

eeese"* to his rough hoft, who cannot any way revenge himfelf on the
impertinent gueft, that he is obliged to do as the badger does to
the fox, quit his lodging. |

Mo: ‘The Mole, Muldvarpen, whofe proper Norvegian Name is
Vond, is found in the eaft parts, but very frequently elfewhere :
as far as I have been able to find ont, ’tis in a manner unknown
in this quarter; probably our rocky ground does not fuit this
famous miner. He lives upon worms and infeGts during Summer,
and in the Winter they eat nothing ; but, like the porcupine and
bear, lie in a ftate of infenfibility, in a trance, or a kind of

flumber.
S.- BC Le 47 oles

bead The Rat, Rotter; of thefe we have feveral kinds, particu-
larly Foreft or Wood, and Water-Rats; thefe are not longer-
liy’d in Nord than Helgeland, where they foon die, if brought

* For feveral years lately Otters {kins have been wanted, in Holland and Germany,
more than ever; according to our merchants accounts, © who export from hence
annually feveral thoufands. | \

+ Nature has wonderfully provided thefe creatures with a fucking-hole, under their
body, betwixt their hind-legs, into which they, in Winter, run their fharp fhout up to
their eyes, and receive nourifhment there, as the bears do from their paws. Hans Frid.
Flemming German Huntfman, p. 115.

there

NATURAL HISTORY of VORP AY. ag
there by fhips from other places. This J. L. Wolff juftly obferves

in his Norrigia lluftr. p. 94; and abundant teftimony confirms it.
If they live to the following {pring, it is long; and when the
herbs begin to grow up, we fee them no more. Hiardanger, in
this diocefe, does not produce, nor will fupport, any tats; and in
the diocefe of Aggerfhuus we have obferved, that on the fouth
fide of Vormen, a large river which comes from Mios, there are
found rats, as in other places; but if they are brought a-crofs the
river they won’t live: this has often been done, by tranfporting
them, with the corn, from the Magazine to the Caftle of Vingers ;
in which place the rats have foon after been found dead: and they
are never feen alive in thofe fields, 1. e. from Odal and Solloer
quite to Ofterdalen; the earth, in thefe places, doubtlefs has
fome thing mineral in it, from whence exhalations rife, that are
unfupportable to thofe creatures *, -
The Moufe, Muus: this little creature we have as well iti Mice.
houfes as woods; and fome, according to Olaus Wormius’s
account, are poifonous; deftroying, or greatly hurting other
creatures by their bite: thefe are found alfo along the water-
fide, where they are called Vand-Skizer.
__ A very particular fort of Mice, white, with red eyes, are
found in the little trading town of Molle in Romfdalen; but we
don’t know that it is their native place ; ’tis more probable they
may have been brought thither by accident; an Eaft-India fhip
being once obliged to winter there. This is the opinion of Hr.
Jon. Ramus, in his Topograph. p. 242. It is here, as in other
places, a commion faying, that juft before a {hip is going to be loft,
or a houfe to be burnt, all the rats and mice will quit the
fame; and it is related here in Bergen, that juft before the great
conflagration, in the beginning of the prefent century, which —
confumed the greateft part of this city, the rats and mice univer-
fally were feen to leave the houfes, and retire part to the water, and
part,in fhoals, to march over the rocks at Sandvigen, to the adjoin-
ing Hammers village, to the annoyance of the farmers. Suppofita
facti veritate, I could with to have a fufficient account or reafon
given me.for this by our modern philofophers, who will not
believe or receive any thing for a truth, except it‘can be demon-
ftrated ex nexu caufarum; this, I apprehend, in fuch events,
tho’ the facts be real, carinot be expected. Certain creatures, we
know, are previoufly fenfible, that is, when they have a feeling
in their bodies, of the enfuing change of air; or can denote before-
* For certain creatures averfion or antipathy againft certain places, fee Plin. Hitt.
Nat. Lib, IX. cap. lviii.
Part. IID. I hand

qo

Eemming.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAYP.

hand when the weather is altering, according to the unalterabl=
laws of nature.

SECT. xX

Of the Norvegian quadrupedes, there is yet one left which
may be referred to the clafsof rats and mice, it is called by fome
people Lemus; by others, Lamen, Lemming, or Lomhund + ;
in Lappifh, Lummick; in Swedifh, Fieldmuus, Rodmuus,
Sabelmuus ; and of fome Latin writers, Mus Norvagicus, Norik
Muus. Their original or native ‘country, is the mountain or
rock of Kolen, in Lapland, belonging to the Swedes, as well as
to the Norvegian neighbouring provinces ; and we find a Swedifh
writer, namely, Olaus Magnus, is the firft among us, who, in
his Hift. Septentr. L. xvii. c. 20. has given us any written ace
counts of this aftonifhing and pernicious creature ; though no
more than what Gefner, m Iconanimal. Cap. xvii. art. 2. has alfo

related ; Jul. Ceef. Scalig. Exerc, 192. Se&t. 3. Jac. Zieglero in

Defcript. Norveg, ad Caftra Bahuf & Johnftonis in Taumatogra=
phize Claffe iv. cap. 8.-as well as in Hift. Nat. Quadruped. cap.
XVI. art. 3. has mentioned it: and the induftrious and learned

Doct. O Wormius has thought it worthy to be illuftrated with
a Scriptum Monographon, entitled, Hiftoria Muris Norvagici vel

animalis, quod e nubibus quandoque in Norvegia decidit, & fata
ac gramina magno incolarum detrimento celerrime depafcitur.
It likewife ftands in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences
wn Sweden, ad ann. 1740, Vol. i. p. 320. Hr. Linnzeus alfo ree
marks on the Lemming, in his two laft particular writings, and
the univerfal report of the country confirms the facts, things not
eonfiftent with reafon only excepted. . After this premonition I
fhall give a fhort extract, and leave it for others to amend ; for
this is the only way to attain, or make advancements in the
knowledge of nature, or to elucidate it by degrees. 3
The Lemming’s fhape and make, as Wormius L. C. reprefent
them in a print, (and I do not pretend to know any more, except
from their fkins, of which I have feen many) is in part like a
moufe, and part like a rat, excepting that the tail is very fhort,
about a thumb’s length, and a little turn’d up at the end; the
legs are very fhort, and f{carce appear to keep the belly from the
round ; the head and mouth are like a field moufe, with very
ee and large whifkers, confifting of about half a {core long hairs

| + Lz Iflandis & Norvegis noxa vel damnum eft. Lzeminge illis dicti funt mures
noxii fegetibus, Norvegis peculiares, quos ccelo decidiffe, 8 per agros difperfos alicubi
ebyiarunt. ©. Sperling in Notis ad Teftam. Abfalonis, No. 78, p. 147.

Og

NATURAL HISTORY of WORWAY

on each fide: they are fomething larger than a moufe, but not
quite fo big as a rat 3 have very doft hair, and of different colours ;
black, with yellow and brown in ftreaks, and fome in fpots. -
Their eyes and ears are {mall, their teeth long and fharp. They Plague:
muft multiply very faft by what we fee of them, tho’ (God be
praifed) but feldom; i. e. about once or twice in twenty years,
when they come from their peculiar abodes: at thefe times the
gather in great flocks together, confifting of many thoufands,
like the hofts of God, to execute his will; 1. e. to punifh the
neighbouring inhabitants, by deftroying thefeed, corn, and grafs:
for where this flock advances, they make a vifible path-way on
the earth or ground, cutting off all that is green; and this they
have power or f{trength to do till they reach their appointed bounds,
which is the fea, in which they fwima little about, and then
fink and drown. For longer than one year God does not fuffer
this plague to be upon us, and then it only rages here and there,
in certain diftricts ata time *, It does not laft long, but in the
end, as it is faid, they have a natural tendency to drown them-
felves; or, if this fail, they perifh by the Winter’s cold; or
thofe few that do efcape, die, as foon as they eat the new grafs ;
for it does not agree with them. The F inlaps dogs devour many
of them, eating all but their heads. From Kolens Rock, which
divides the Nordland manor from Sweden, and which is held to
be their peculiar and native place, they are obferved, when the
wandering fit comes upon them, marching in vaft flocks through
Nordland and Finmarck, to the weftern ocean ; and other bodies of
them through Swedifh Lapmarck, to the Sinus Bathnicus. The
do this, according to Hr. Linnzeus’s account, in fucha dire& line,
that they will not turn on any fide, or make any fweep ; and if
they muft go round a large ftone, then they feek their line on
the other fide, and fo keep ftrait on. If they find a boat on any
frefh water river, they run in at one end, or fide, and out again
at the other, in order to keep their courfé. Their young they
carry with them on their backs, or in their mouths. If they
once meet with the peafants to oppofe them, they will ftand un-
daunted, and bark at them, like little dogs. From this circum. .
fiance they are called by fome Lomhunde, and particularly, if
*Th Sogne Fiordens Fogderie, in this diocefs, it happens every third or fourth
year, that a few Lemen are feen here, yet but few, and cannot do much harm. There
is kept here alfo what is named a Moufe feftival, once a year, in this manner : they
put on their holiday cloaths, and inftead of working, lay themfelves to fleep.
‘This took its rife from a faft-day which was kept in former times, to avert the plague

ef Lemen, andcother Mice, which fome pretend have been ufed to fall down formerly
from the clouds ; but of this I have no authentick account, ,

te any

32 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
any one ftrike at'them with witha ftick, they will bite at i¢, in
the manner of adog. ‘Thefe vermin prognofticate a bad harveft
where-ever they take their courfe; but, in feturn, the country-
man expects good hunting, or fport, of the bear, fox, maar, and
feveral other large animals, which follow. thefe creatures 3 to
whom they are delicious food. All this is e(tablithed by, and
may be believed from common report, and the teftimony of many
underftanding and honeft perfons, who have made nice ‘obfervas
tions on thefe creatures ; fo that their hiftory being fo far certain,
Fall from the there remains one thing dubious, whichis this ; whether it is to be
i believed that the Lemmingerne, according to common report, do
fall down out of the air 3) which many, both in thefe and former
times, will pretend to fay they have feen with their own eyes.
Wormius, Scaliger, and other great men, do not fuppofe this
to be impoflible :: they: imagine that the Lemming, like frogs,
and other {mall creatures, may, in theirembrios, be attraG@ed to
the clouds, and being then come to maturity, may drop down.
Cum igitur tot animalium genera in nubibus generata, pluviis .
decidifle, fide dignorum autorum conftet teftimoniis quidni &
hec eodem modo generata in nubibus ftatuamus? L. C.
p- 33. To reconcile this ftrange account to reafon, others
think it more probable, that the fogs, which fometimes aré
feen extremely thick upon the mountains, may lift them up
in multitudes, and carry them away to other places, where it is
but of ‘late time they have ever been heard of. This Hr. Linnzus
believes as much, as that the fame fog is able to take up a Finlap
with his Reenfdeer, and carry him away; a notion which the
common people really have in that country. However, the afore-
faid philofopher does not tell us, in the place of this which - he
explodes, any other way that feems more probable for their being
brought to us. If we won’t deny all hiftoric faith which de-
clares for their coming from the air, I will venture to give my
opinion, to which Hr. Lucas Debes’s agreement gives fome
farther confirmation : in his Defcription of Feeroernes, p. 13, he
defcribes a fort of -whirl-wind, called Oes, which elevates up, or
draws up fometimes a whole laft of herrings out of the fea, and
throws them,.on the rocks. Such aneflect or power the Finlaps
allow to a thick fog: concerning the Oes I have already fpoken
largely} Gap. Wgr alt yP, to oa : ;
And, in confirmation of this opinion, it is to be obferved,
however, that fome are found on the rocks, which appear to be
firuck dead by their fall; alfo that.none in this country have
Fotravtlia t | | ever

NATURAL HISTORY of VORP AY.
ever feen their young, as they do in Sweden. When they are
found here they are nearly all of a fize. | :
The formular of an exorcifm, which the Romith clergy have
ufed, in order to banifh fuch country plagues with, is introduced
by O. Wormius, p..55, thus: ‘* Exorcifmus. Exorcizo vos
peftiferos vermes, mures, aves, feu locuftas aut animalia alia
per Deum Patrem # Omnipotentem,' & Jefuim yChriftum filium
ejus, & Spiritam # SanGtum ab utroque procedentem, ut con-
feftim recedatis ab his campis, feu vineis, vel aquis, nec amplius
in eis habitetis, fed ad ea loca tranfeatis, in quibus. nemini nocere

poflitis, & ex a omnipotentis Dei, & totius curia coleftis,

& Ecclefize fancte Dei, vos maledicens quocunque ietitis, fitis
maledidti, deficientes de die in diem in vos ipfos, &. decrefcentes
quatenus reliquize de vobis nullo in loco inveniantur; nifi_ necef-
Marte ad falutem & ufum humanum,quod preeftare dignetur ille,
qui venturus eft judicare vivos & mortuos & feculum per ignem.
Amen.” ) 91°88 ? gh ek gel a ea | |

Mg RAL 77 VRB ne ella 0: cS RW Pr

33

34 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

6 A feP eh Ia iteonps ae
Of SERPENTS and INSECTS.

Sect. I. General obfervations on the creatures, which properly belong to this
\ clafs. Sect II. Serpents of the land. Secr. Ill. Serpents of the waters.
Sect. IV. Lizards, Toads, Frogs and Snails... Srct.\V. -Grafshoppers,
Plow-worms, Slow-worms and Centipes. Sect. VI. The Clufler-worm and
Spider. Sect. VII. Small worms, which fall in the fogs, and hurt. trees.
Sect. VIII. Others of a like kind, which are thought to come down with.
fnow, and burt the ground. Sect. IX. Of Caterpillars, Humble-bees,
Gnats and Flies. Snot. X.. Of Wood-bees, Beetles and Ants. Sect. XI.
Of Infects found in the water, and called Water-beetles , of Boat-flies, ,
and Red-worms, and Hippocampus, or Sea-horfe. Sect. XII. Of the Con-
cha Anatifera, which is erroneoufly taken to be the firft fate of a certain
kind of Geefe or Ducks. a SIS

Sty he Gks Waa

A F TER the Quadrupedes of Norway, we naturally take
into confideration the Serpents and Infects ; thofe which

creep, and thofe which have fome ufe of wings. ,
This article will be but fhort for two reafons; firft, Becaufe
Leaft of thefe the cold northern partsare lefs fruitful of them than the warmer
forts owed’ Countries, where the earth and air are better adapted for the
peculiar contexture of the * bodies of Snakes and Infects: and
{econdly, I write only what I know by experience ;, and I have
hitherto had but little opportunity of examining into thefe matters
with neceflary care and circumfpection, efpecially as the tafte of this
ageis very delicate in thefe particulars, from the extraordinary lights
of many, and of Mr. de Reaumur, preferable to moft, who has dif-
covered things concerning them, to the wonder and furprife of all
Europe. In the mean time I will not omit inferting the Natura
rerum, fo far as my imperfect Knowledge and little experience
therein has been able to furnifh. I fhall obferve firft, that the terms,
Serpents and Infects are to be underftood in the extenfive fenfe,
which the before-mentioned Mr. de Reaumur explains in the follow-
ing words, in his Memoires pour fervir a Vhiftoire des Infectes. T. I.
P.I. p. 69. fequ. Les anneaux dont le corps d’une infinite de petits
animaux eft compofe, les efpeces d’incifions qui fe trouvent a la

* Neverthelefs Infects live longer in a cold air than in hot, according to John
Swammerdam’s remarks in his Biblia Natura, Clafs iii. p. 162, where he fpeaks thus :
‘© Such influence have cold and heat on that {mall animal the Silk-worm, that tho’
heat is life to it, and cold death, that is, it obftruéts all motion, which is a {tate of
death yet ifappears from examples, that even: cold may preferve this little animial’s
-life longer, for their juices and fpirits circulate flower, and don’t evaporate fo foon as
in immoderate heat.” Perhaps the fame principle may be advanced of the longevity
of the Norvegians.

jonction

ss

NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY.

jonétion de deux anneaux, leur ont aparement fait donner le nom
d’Infectes, qui aujourd’hui n’eft plus reftraint a ceux qui ont de
2S 49d Pp q

_ pareilles incifions. On n’hefite pas a mettre une limace dans la

clafle des infeGtes, quoiqu’elle n’ait point d’anneaux diftinGs,
&c.——Des qu’un Hiftorien a confacre fa plumea la gloire d’un
peuple, il fe paffionne pour luy, il voudroit trouver par tout des
traces de fes conquetes & de l’etendue de fa domination. Je ne
{cay, fi des difpofitions pareilles ne me font point trop reculer les
limites de la clafle des InfeGtes. Je luy accorde volontiers tous les
animaux, que leurs formes ne nous permettent pas de placer dans
la clafle de quadrupedes ordinaires, dans celle des oifeaux & dans
celle des poiffons. Les voyageurs qui nous parlent d’araignees
aufli grofles que des moineaux, exagerent peut etre. Mais nous
avons des papillons dont le vol, dont V’etendue des ailes, furpafle
Petendue des ailes de certains petits oifeaux. Une chenille n’en
feroit pas ‘moins chenille, fi on en trouveroit de plufieurs pieds de
Jongueur. Un crocodil feroit un furieux infecte. Je n’aurois pour-
tant aucune peine aluy donner ce nom. Tous les reptiles appar-
tiennent a la clafle des Infectes, par les memes raifons, que les
vers de terre luy appartiennent. Les lezards, qui malgre leurs
quatre jambes, selevent fouvent fi peu, lorfqu’ils marchent, que
la plus part femble ramper, font encore une dependance de la

claife des Infectes, &c. . |
| Sit Shon etal 4 i

Concerning Serpents, Toads; and other poifonous creatures of serpents.

that kind, they are not found above Helgeland, in Nordland F og-

erie, where the temperate zone ends, but farther down, in the
diocefe of Tronheim ; and confequently not lefs in the more fouthern

provinces. Their bite in general is reckoned not near fo poifonous
as the Italian or African {nakes. a Fa

Of thofe Serpents which are: moft common to us, and
which we call in Danifh Snoge, J. Ramus fays, p. 243, there
are feveral, forts, viz. black, grey, filver-grey, and white;
and a certain kind yellow, and triangular*. In many places
the people are. of , opinion that Serpents have their parti-

cular holds, and there gather themfelvesin great numbers; for.

_ . * Ina fmall collection of Norway petrefactions, I have a Snake found at Tonfberg; »
about as thick as a finger, and half an ell long, crooked, and with one fide im-

prefs’d into a piece of pyrites; from whence it*had-received a bright copper colour,
which I trace to'the deluge. I never faw'the fellow to the body of this Snake; for
it is all over full of holes, and pretty broad incifions, as if with hollow annuli, or
rings between ; the rifing parts, partes convexze, were quite fharp.

Probably this is no. more than a cornu ammoni, a petrifaction of a fhell-fifh, not -

a Serpent. . |

they

ey

36 NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY.
they are hardly ever feen in the neighbouring parifhes; and I was
informed in Nordals Parfonage at Sundmoer, that on that fide of
the river which runs by them there are many in the Summer, but
on the other fide not one; and even it has been-try’d to bring
them over, and they have immediately languifhed, and died in
a few hours after. . |

This may have fufficient ground from the different nature of
the foil, tho’ it is not obvious, and depends, perhaps, upon cer.
tain hidden minerals, which may be agreeable, or oppofite to their.
natures. Some advance that the much higher mountains on one
fide than the other obftru& the rays of the fun, which the Snake
is fond of, to be revived by its warmth. . | |

In the fame place I was affured that a peafant’s wife found a
Snake in the cradle with her child, who was not in the leaft hurt
by it. Moft probably this cold creature wanted to revive itfelf
in the heat ; for when it has lain the whole Winter in a ftate of
infenfibility, it receives life again gradually by the fun’s warmth
in the Spring: and our long Winters and fhort Summers keep

_ them under, and prevent their increafing fo much as in warmer
climates. . | | |

The kind of Snakes which the peafant calls Huiid Ormen, is
fought after, and preferved as a remedy for the cattle in many
diforders ; a piece of this creature, particularly the head, is rolled
up in alump of dough, and put down the defeafed creature's
throat. The fkin that the Snake annually cafts, is ufed to tye
round a woman’s body in difficult labour ; and they imagine it
promotes delivery. | ye

In tegard to the birth of the venomous kind, by the obferva-
tions of many it is affirmed, that the female parent hangs herfelf
upon the branch of a tree, and lets the young ones, one after
the other, drop down from her. Whether. this is done that
they fhould not bite the mother, according to their nature, I
cannot deterntine. |

“All thef® cfeatures are viviparous ; for there are fome kind
of thém ‘Which lay eggs, and they are often-found in dunghills,
lying upon a gréat number of eggs, to hatch them as birds do:
and fome have obférved that they made the great flat toad lie
upon them) whilft they have thrown themfelves round the neft,
to’ keép him clofe tohisduty.

Ft
e

Singular inci» Another fingulat incident, which I have heard from many cre.
set" aible witneffes, may be related here, to thew the power of Ser
dible witneffes, may be related here, to fhew the power of Ser
pents even over birds, which do not feem fubjected to them 5.
that is, as one of them lies, he'll raife his head about a quarter
| | ; of

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.

of a yard, with his mouth opened, till a lark, a {wallow, or
fome low flying bird, in its flight happens to have the misfor-
tune to come perpendicular over him ; on this it will ftand till,
tho’ at fome fathoms height; and finding itfelf rrefiftibly im-
pelled, it begins to cry fadly, and drops dire@ly into the Ser-:
pent’s mouth, who well knows how to feparate the feathers, and
throw them out. pine Prag
That this happens is certain; but how thofé rays or effluvia
that may arife from the natural powers of the Snake, with which
it, asit were, fucks the birds down to its mouth, I leave for
others to inveftigate. So much is to be obferved however, that
the Lord of Nature, who ordains one creature for the other's
food, has given the Serpent in this a power which does not’ al-
together feem to agree with his form and fhape*. Olaus Mag-

37

nus fays, in his Hitt. Septentr. L. xxi. c/'28. That in this country Serpents wit
is to be found a Serpent,’ called Amphifbena, with two heads, => i

one at each end, and that it goes forwards with both, moving
either way. The fame is related by Odoardus Dapper, about
a fort of Serpents in America ; but I have not heard it. in this
country confirmed by any body.” Mr. Edward Chriftie, reGor of
the parifh of Tyines, and.dean of Sundhordlehn, affured me
that he had a {mall Serpént, with two heads on one body. and
tail ; fo that each head had a moderate part of the body divided
forit: he had preferved it a long while in fpirits of wine, but at
laft threw it away at the requeft of his wife, who had an averfion
to it, and was afraid fhe fhould happen to fee it unawares, and
be terrified. This puts me in mind of a Serpent, or young
Dragon, with feven heads and necks, on a thick body, and along

* Concerning a large fort ‘of Secpents in| Phrygia, /ilianus, in-his Lib, ii) de Anix
mal. cap. 21. tells us, Cauda ad terram adniti, reliquio erecto corpore, toto gutture
eminente & patilatim laxato ore hiante, volucres fuper volantes, tametfi fublime feran-
tur, fua afpirationé, tanquam amatorio quodam, ad:fe attrahete’allicere, P/S. When
I wrote this I ‘met with, in Biblioth, Britannigne, Tom, )xii..P. is p. 136.» ah extract
of philofophica} tranfaCtions de anno 1734, M. Jun. Jul. Aug. and there is, art. 1. a
treatife, called, Conjectures fur le pouvoit dé ¢harmer ou de fafeiner, qu’on attribue

aux Serpens 2 Sonnettes. The Tenowned Sir Hans Sloane, as an author, is of Opinion
that the American Rattle-fnake (and here we attribute the fame faculty to the common

Snakes) firft bites’ and wotinds the bird, and then, lying under the branch of the

tree where the’ bird. is’ own. to, watches, thatvit may drop down into the mouth of its
executioner. But in this country they affure me quite the contrary to what has’ been
faid, averring the unhurt bird’s fluttering ip the air over the Snake’s open mouth. Nor
does it to me feem probable that the Serpent fhould let his ptey flip out of his mouth,
to catch it again: with lefs Certainty... What Ihave fet down, is what I cannot vouch
from my own experience; but have it from, thofe that 1 have no reafon to doubt.

. In the Hamburgh Magazine we ‘niger with Doct. C. J. Sprenger’s famous experi-
ment made with a moufe that was let loofe on the gtound to a Snake; it made a few
turns, and {queaked a little, and then run Girece into the Snake’s Open’ mouth, who
all the while lay ftill. Might the Newtonian attraction take place here? .

Part II, pointed

38

WaterSnakes.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWV AY.

pointed tail, with ‘four legs, covered with feales, lefs than the
fcales of a herring. This creature is, as well as I can carry it in
my eye, two German ells long. This I have feen, and perhaps
many thoufands befides me may have feen it ; and it is ftill to be
feen at Mr. Stampeel’s, an eminent merchant in Hamburgh *,
to whofe fore-fathers it was pawn’d for a confiderable fam of
money, by the Konigfmark’s family, who got it, among other
booty, at the plundering of Prague. A painting of it is to be
feen at Copenhagen, in the king’s cabinet of curiofities, and
which I can truly atteft is perfeQly done from the original. The
emblematic Dragon with feven heads, which the Scripture takes
notice of, has not alone an imagination, but a natural trath for
its foundation; and I take this opportunity to obferve it: but I
have no ground to confirm what the often quoted Ol. Magnus,
cap. 29. fays about fome birch-trees in this country, which are
feen green Winter and Summer, from a number of Snakes that
have made their nefits under the roots, and fo keep them warm.
The fame author fays alfo, cap. 30. that the Norvegians are fo
fuperftitious, as to hold Serpents facred, and fet milk to them
for food ; but that fuperftition is thrown off long ago.

SEC T. Iii.

Water Snakes, Vand-flanger, which are commonly dark-colour’d,
and are not reckoned fo poifonous as thofe on land, afe “found
here every where in frefh water; but that they, according to
an old faying, are many fathom long, particularly in Store Mios
on Hedemarken, and ftrong enough to overfet a boat, I have
not found confirmed by experience ; tho’ I will not deny the
poffibility of it; in confideration of what Livy, Pliny, Strabo,
and others report, concerning the bloody fight of Atilius Regulus
apainft a Serpent, 120 feet long, which oppofed the Romifh
army in crofling the fea Bagrada in Africa, and killed great num-
bers of the foldiers before he could be deftroyed ; which was
done at laft with pickaxes, for he did not regard their arrows.

Odoard. Dapper, in his African Travels, p. 394, takes notice,
that in the land of Quoia there isa fort of Serpents called Minia,
the bignefs of which may be concluded from their {wallowing up
a whole flag.

The great Sea-fnakes I once held only for a chimera, but am
now fully convinced that they are found in the North fea, as fure
as any other fith: it is faid, by the people who inhabit the coatt,
\ * This is probably fome artful impofition ; for there is not known to be any fuch

creature in nature, ‘
that.

“NATURAL HISTORY of MORWAY.

that they are not generated in the fea, but on land; and when
_ they are grown fo big that they cannot move about on the rocks,
they then go into the fea, and afterwards attain their full growth.
This laft account I cannot perfuade myfelf to believe, for the falt
water is not agreeable to the nature of land-creatures ; and the
Sea-{nake is generated, without doubt, in the fea, according to
the nature of fifhes, and other creatures of the ocean. |
If that be, which many of the farmers hereabout declare,
that they have feen fnakes of feveral fathoms length ; or if there
be truth in their accounts, who, from uncertain relations, defcribe
the Lindormen, or great Snake, it is moft probable that
creature would fooner go to frefh waters, in cafe its body could
not move about longer on dry land.

In Ullands parifh there is a lake of a middling fize, which is

faid to have in it thefe Snakes; and the lake Store Mios, in
Hedemarken, is long and deep enough for the largeft fhip.

Ol. Magnus, Lib. xxi. cap. 27. Petr. Undalinus, in his De-
{cription of Norway, cap. vil. p. 36. and Jon. Ramus, P. III.
p. 82, affirm, that there are quantities of large Snakes in thefe
waters, one of which was feen to reach from Oens Land to
Kongs Landet ; this I'll leave on their authority, and only ob-
ferve, that if it is true, the relation is mixed with: fables and
witchcraft, and omens, which fhould be exploded.

The Sea-fnake’s appearance, they fay, prognofticates fome

important incident tothe country; this is idle. Of the fame Fuble.

fabulous kind is, without doubt, the aforefaid firft author’s
relation, L. xxi, c. 27. of a Snake that was found near Bergen,
200 feet long, and 20 thick, which, in the night, left his hole
ix the rock, to go out and devour the farmers calves and fheep ;
he might as well have faid cows and horfes. Of fuch monfters on
land we do not pretend to know any thing here ; but with refpe&
to the great Sea-{nake, which is a veritable monfter of the fea-
kind, 1 fhall {peak particularly, when I come to the fubject of
the Norway fea-animals and fifh. In the mean time, in the
words of Ewerh. Happelius, and upon his credit I will introduce
the following relation out of the Mund. Mirab. T. II. L. 1.

44

‘‘ account, from‘the report of Gulbrandi Hougfrud and Olaus
“ Anderfen, that they had feen, in the laft Autumnal inundation,
“ a large Water-ferpent, or Worm, in the Speriler fea; and it is
believed that it had been feen before in Mios, and had been
hitherto hid in the river Bang. As foon as it reached the

“ fhore

39

¢, 18. *“* Nicolaus Gramius, minifter at Londen in Norway, this is High.
gives, 16 Jan. Anno 1656, of fuch a Serpent the following S™™

40

Lizard.

Frogs.

Snails, .

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW4Y

“© fhore of this river, it proceeded on the dry land to the Speriler
“‘ fea ; it appeared like a mighty maft, and whatever ftood in its
“way was thrown down; even the very trees and huts: the
“¢ people were terrified with his hiffing and frightful roaring ;
“and almoft all the fifh, in the aforefaid fea, were devoured or
“¢ drove away by it. The inhabitants of Odale were {0 terrified
“at this monfter, that none would venture to go to the fea, to
“ follow their cuftomary fifhing and wood-trade; nor would any
“body walk along the fhore. At the end of the Autumn,

“before the waters were frozen, this monfter was feen at a

“ diftance, and, by its enormous fize, furprized every body; its

‘‘ head was as:big-as an hogfhead, and the thicknefs of its body,
‘‘ as far as the fame appeared. above water, was like a tun ; the -
“length of the whole body was vaft; it reached, as far as the
‘‘ ipectators could judge, the length of three Norway Dannen-
‘* trees, and rather exceeded.” ‘This is the account: Sit fides
penes autorem.

‘ STR Day Oya) RABEL Sa

The Lizard, called Ogle or Fire-been, and often alfo Fire-fod,
is here much of the fame fhape, but of various colours, brown,
greenifh, and ftriped. | |

The green ones are found in the fields upon the ground; the’
dark in the cracks and holes of rocks. Ol. Magnus treats, -
L. xxi. c. 28. about the fo called Hagedifler, which is a large
Lizard, of which there are many in the caves and holes of the
rocks, but are not hurtful or pernicious like Snakes, They are
unknown to me; for what I have feen are but fmall; like the
Danifh, and are very different from the Hagedifler in warm
countries. »

Toads, Tudfer, and Frogs, Padder, which we call Froer, are
here of the known fort, but they are not fo frequent here as in
Denmark :.I have never feen here any of the {mall green Frogs,
that will fit on the leaves of trees, and make a noife like the
found of a bell. .Thefe in Denmark are called Peder Oxes
Froer *. | . :

Snails, Snegle: we have peculiar to this country, fome naked
Snails, or without fhells ; thefe are either large and black, or
{mall and-of an afh-grey ; and are commonly found under old
timber, that has laid long on the ground. sigs
_* ‘The common Frogs have this particular in them in this country, that they make.

a lefs‘noife or croaking in the fpring, than in any other place; and according to my
ewn'and others obfervations, they are in fome places quite dumb.

We

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY x

We have others that live upon the grafs and upon leaves 3. alfo
in frefh water: thefe are provided with a houfe, or fhell, which
is brown, ftriped, or black ; they are very common.

We have alfo the falt water Snail, which is partly fhaped like
a Snake, and a Craw-fifh ; likewife other forts belonging to the
fea, which fhall be treated of in their proper place. — ¥

ee OS Ok. A

The Grafshoppers of Norway, F aare-K yllinger, which the Grafshoppers,
Norvegians call alfo Siritzer and Greefhopper, and fuch fmall and
common creatures, do not deferve here any particular remarks, as
nothing diftinguifhes them from the common kinds in other
countries. The fame may be faid of the Leach, called the Horfe-
Leach, the common Earth-worm ‘or Dew-worm, and other large
and {mall Worms and Maggots, which are called here contraéte
~Makor Mark. ge 3
A fhort thick Worm, with fix feet, has the name of the Plow- Piow-worm.
“worm, or Muld-Oxe, perhaps becaufe he knows how to plow the
ground ; in the furrows of which the eggs are dug or plow’d up in

the Spring, and would produce an immenfe quantity of Worms,
and afterwards of Flies, if God’s providence had not appointed

the crows to watch, and given them a particular appetite to
devour them fo foon as they appear. _

At Hardanger there is a Worm that I have not heard of any stow-worm:
where elfe ; it 1s called the Slow-worm, Sleebe, perhaps becaufe it
moves but flowly; it is nearly half an ell long, and about as
thick as a finger; the goats eat them eagerly, and they
don’t hurt them. ry |

The Centipes, called Tufind-Been, or Skaal-Orm, is half a centipes.
finger’s length, reddifh, with many fmall legs under the belly’:
they live in ftables and cow-houfes, and are a pernicious creature
to the cattle, if they chance to fwallow them with their
provender, . | oH |

When ‘this happens, the peafants take one of the fame kind
of Worms, pull of the head, and give it to the fick beaft, rolled
up in a bit of dough. |

| SE OT. Vi. |
_ The Clufter-worm, Drag-foc, or Ormeedrag, is, as far as | Citerwom:
‘know, a creature peculiar to this country ; at leaft I have neither
feen or heard of them in Denmark. It is properly a congeries
of animals; and confifts of an immenfe number of {mall Worms,

gathered and extended for a great way along the earth, juft like
Part. IL, M a rope

42

Spider.”

“NATURAL HISTORY of VORIZAY,

a rope of many fathoms ; and ’tis a finger and half, or two fingers
broad. Each Worm is not thicker than a bit of coarfe thread,
and as long as an oat-corn ; of a watery colour, with a black {pot
on the head. Thefe kind of Worms love to be together, and

are found by millions, continually crawling upon one another,

yet fo that the whole company moves continually forwards, and
leaves a path behind them, upon the bare ground, like a diawn
line. What this almoft numberlefs quantity of fmall Worms
nourifhment or fubfiftence is, is not to be perceived; and it is
probable that they prey upon one another, as M. Labat aflures us
the American ferpents or fnakes do: otherwife the great encreafe

and number would render the place where they come unin-

habitable. Concerning the aforefaid Orme-Drag Jonas Ramus
fays, p. 242, that the.common people, when they perceive it,

took upon it asa fignsg® fome good luck, and-throw their

cloaths in the way ; ifthe Worms go over them the owner is
counted fortunate, but if they pafs on one fide, then, ‘by the

fame fuperftition, they think that he’ll foon die. The fame
author is of opinion, that thefe poflibly may be the Worms,
of which Juvenal fays, Sat. II. |

Non illis prodeft in pyxide condita Lyde.

Id eft avanei genus, quod millenos vermiculos parere & fterilita-
tem tollere dicitur,

According to this opinion the Orme-Drag fhould be the
Maggot, ora fort of young Spider, or fomething of that kind *,
which I cannot agree to, fince Spiders, which are called here
alfo Kongro, item Spindel, then would be in the fame places in

the greateft quantities; which is not obferved, but rather the
contfary, in.comparifon to other countries. This, perhaps, the

damtp air, particularly towards the weft fide, may occafion; but
it is certain, that of that fort there are but few, neither are they
large ; and we are lefs troubled with their webs in the houfes
and churches than any where +,

* The Spider is produced in its own form from the ege.

+ The learned Hr. Hermand Rugge, rector at Slidre in Valders, related to me

fomething extraordinary concerning a very {mall unknown Infect, hardly bigger than a
grain of fand, with legs all round and red: this is fo poifonous, that if any beaft

~accidentall fhould fwallow.one, he would inftantly die.

A little red Spider, common in England, of which the fame thing is faid here, but
Fabuloufly. | Nae AD.

SECT.

NAFURAL HISTORY of WORWAY. 43

“-s ECT! VIL

_ Afort of almoft invifible {mall Worms is brought hither in the Small Worms
Summer with a certain fog, called Haforje, becaufe the Weft-" *”
_ wind {ets it in from the ocean.

_ This Haforje is fall of the aforefaid {mall Worms, which fall on
the trees; and all greens, and do a vaft deal of damage.

__ When the honey-dew falls on the fruit or hops, then there

follows, -and doubtlefs arifes from that, a fort of fmall Worms,

which doa waft deal of mifchief alfo; againft which the farmers

make ufe of the following remedy : they take one ant-hillock, or

more, and boil it in a tun of water, and fprinkle every green

thing with it that they want to fave.’ This honey-dew is a
kind of a flimy. moifture, which dries by the fun’s fudden heat,
and then appears in form of cobwebs; and propably this is the
rife of a half fabulous account given in Ewerh. Happelit Mund.
Mirab. Tom. I. L. Il. c. vii. p. g1. in the following words.
‘« Pretorius in thefe words defcribes an uncommon rain, which H'ghGermas
“ fell Anno 1665. He fays im his New: World, P. I. p. 245,
“ that advites came from Hamburgh of the 29th of July, that
“¢ a merchant had reported, for truth, the following faa, which
happened in Norway: i. e. There is a wood, which the day
“ before was all green and beautiful, and the following day
quite withered away, and thé leaves were all covered with
Jinnen, like muflin or gauze; of which the king of Denmark
was prefented with 20 ells, and a merchant in Hamburgh had
“* alfo had a pieceinhishands. > | er

. & This.we look’d upon as a mere fable at Leipzig, but fome
ainfifted upon the fa@, the truth of it being vouch’d by feveral .
letters from Hamburgh ; yet it remained a kind of doubt, and
people did not know what to. believe, till one account came
in after the other, and cleared up all doubt of this fufpicious
prodigy; and finally, it was put upon footing of credit, by
a confiderable burgher and merchant’s having received a very
full and particular account, in the beginning of Auguft, from
*¢ his faithful friend, a lord of the manor there; which I have
read, and with ‘aftonifhment ; viz. from Tundern in Holftein;
and wherein was fpecified, that at a place in Norway, for about
“ a’quarter of a mile-round, there had fallen a kind of a web,
which had covered the earth. It is almoft white, fays the ac-
count, and has the appearance of gauze ; the people in thofe
parts had made apparel’ of it, and. drefled themfelves in. it.
Perhaps God has fent it to’them as a warning, to make them
pr ‘ leave

44

SmallWorms
that fall with
the fnow.

Plague.

_ the year 109 the fame fwarm, which feemed an_ inftrument

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
‘leave off their pride and vanity, and humble themfelves in
‘ their drefs.. Along with the account the fame perfon had fent
“.a piece of the faid gauze, folded round’a piece of paper, of
“the fize of a quarter of a fheet both in breadth and length.
‘«¢ This I examined, and found that it refembled’a cobweb in
“‘ finenefs, but differed in other refpects vifibly. It was very
‘* ftrong, and would bear pulling in any part before it would
“tear ; which our cobwebs wont, for a large fly will tear them.
“¢ Vide Frantz. in Hift. Animal.c. xiii. tra@. 4. p. m. 869, 8703
“* the {peculative fpeech of Thales to Solon fetting afide the blowing
“* it fo pieces, and deftroying it with a bare finger, as is daily expe-
rienced. And further, this Norvegian gauze, when laid out of
“ the hands, would curl up together, and, as often as one had a
“‘ mind, might be ftretched out without any hurt ; which a cob-
«« web will not bear ; for when you take that off from the walls,
“ &Xc. it curls up together like the rind of warm bacon, and is
“ like a thick thread, and {carce poflible to be unfolded above
“once, and brought to its former breadth ; not to mention

“¢.many more things, in which it differs.” So far Happelius of
Pretorius. | eid

Some years fince it was obferved in the diocefe of Chriftianfand,
for feveral miles: round, that there were no leaves on the oak
trees, they were all confumed by a kind of {mall Worms, which
were afterwards transformed into a flying infe&t of a white colour.
Thefe creatures were all blafted afterwards, and fell on the ground
in fuch heaps, that it appeared like the cherry-tree bloflom
when it is blown, and falls on the ground. 3

To the former clafs, or fome other nearly related to it, one
might perhaps refer thofe {mall Worms which are faid to fall with
the {now in the Spring of the year, tho’ that feldom happens
after the trees have budded; for if it does, the young fhoot
ufually decay. |

SECT. VII.

‘It is faid that in the Spring fometimes there falls down with
the {now'a fort of Worms larger, and more confpicuous: thefe
até thick and longifh, of a dark colour, and they do much mif-
chief to the greens, and may be counted a plague. ater

Anho 1684, which was'a dry year, thefe were found in incre-
dible numbers, {warming together ; and where-ever one took the

moft pains to deftroy them, they increaféd the fafter; they did
not hurt the corn, but deftroyed all other kind of green. In
in
the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

the hand of God, was ftretched out todeftroy the cabbage, grafs,
hemp, and flax, but not the corn, which they feemed to have
orders to leave; for they never hurt it.

The fevere year, 1742, ftill frefh in our memories, was re-
markable alfo for thefe worms, and for their confequences. On
Palm-funday they were feen by many people, as they were going
to church, lying on the fnow, and groping for the earth; which
has been -afflured. me by Hr. profeflor Erich Grave, who {ent to
me, living at that time in Copenhagen, written atteftations re-
lating to it, which I fhewed his late majefty king Chriftian the
Vith, who was defirous of knowing the origin of thefe worms,
but did not much credit that atteftation, though fubfcribed by
feveral farmers in Rygge Sogn, near Mofs.

Hr. juftice-counfellor Detharding, then preceptor of phyfick

in the univerfity of Copenhagen, held immediately a lecture, or _

difpatation, thereon, which he called Difquifitio phyfica ver=
_mium in Norvegia, qui noviter vifi,‘&c. wherein his opinion is,
that the eggs of thefe worms, which had remained from the lat
Summer in the cracks, and on the branches of the adjoining trees,
fell from thence with the fnow, and not from the air; and par-
ticularly he takes the pains, in his excellent method, to demon-
firate, that thefe worms are not- (according to the publick notion)
any thing new or uncommon, or different fhaped ; for that, after
he had examined the make and form of them in a’ microfcope,
according to the plate annex’d, he found them to be ex genere
erucarum, or of the common Caterpillar kind, which the trees
are full enough of, both here and in other places.

He fhews that they, like thefe, have a horny fhell on the head,

fixteen feet, the fix foremoft armed with fharp claws, the eight
hinder on the body flat, to go upon, and two hindmoft of all
placed by themfelves; alfo, that they were, in general, {mooth,
tho’ a little hairy, in ornamental tufts, about the body.

Firft, he afferts, that thefe erucee, like other common Cater-

pillars, change into the {0 called Nymphas, or hide, or cover.

themfelves, a fhort time, in a roundifh fhell, and become in-
fenfible ; and then, that they come forth in the fhape of a butter-
fly. The only thing in which they fhew any fenfible difference
is, that thefe Norvegian worms were of a black colour, which
is like the fineft black velvet. This colour Hr. Detharding is
of opinion they had received under the fnow, which uncommon
confinement might this year have effected fome uncommon change
in their delicate bodies,

Part I. | N | This

45°.

45

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

This is his opinion: but if Tam to believe feveral ocular wit:
neffes that have feen this Worm inftantly, when it fell black on
the top of the fnow, and have feen it come at once, together
with the {now, from the {nowy sky; the reft feems dubious *,
All that I have further to fay is, that, in’ the year 1735, many
fields in France were vifited with the fame Worm-plague, ac-
cording to Monf. Reaumur’s account, which well deferves to be
introduced here: Elles (les chenilles a douze jambes) nous ont
pourtant appris en 1735, qu’elles doivent etre mifes au rang des
-chenilles les plus capables de nous faire du mal. Depuis les der-
niers jours de Juin, jufq’ a la fin de Juillet, il a paru un grand
nombre de chenilles vertes, telles que celles que nous avons de-
crites cy-deflus. Mais il a paru encore beaucoup plus de chenilles,
gui, comme les precedentes, n’avoient que douze jambes, & que

quatre intermediates, dont le fond de lacouleur du corps etoit un

Verd plus brun. Le Verd de quelques-unes tiroit fur le noir,
éc. Il n’eft pas aife de fe reprefenter la quantite de ces chenilles,
qui a paru cette annee aux environs de Paris jufqu’ a tours en
Auvergne, en Bourgogne, &c. Elles ont commence’ par atta-
quer les legumes ; elles ont ravage prefque tous les jardins pota-
gers des environs de Paris, appelles Marais, a un tel point, qu’on
ny voyoit au plus que des fragmens de feuilles; les plantes
mavoient plus que des tiges & des cotez de feuilles, &c. Dans
quelques pays ces chenilles ont attaque les avoines. Monf. de
Nainvillier ecrevit a Monf. du Hamel fon frere, qu’elles commen-
coient a les manger aux environs de pluvieux, &c. » En Auverene
& Bourgogne elles fe font attachez aux chanvres encore trop
jeunes, ou trop eloignes de la maturite, &c. Memoires pour fervir
a l’hiftoire des Infectes, Tom. ii. P. ii, p. 94, feq. If there |
be any comfort in what is called fellow-fuffering, them we fee

that France, fo highly favoured otherwife by nature, has, in this
refpect, not any preference. One thing may {till be added from
the learned Hr. Ole Tidemand, dean here in Bergen, his ac-
count, viz. That in Stokke parifh, in the county of Jarlsberg,
after they had put up publick prayers in the church againft thefe
pernicious worms, they were feen to gather in greas heaps, and
crawl to the neareft waters, and drown themfelves; and from
that time there was not one found. | |

* Worms in and with the {now appears.very ftrange, particularly if we obferve
their fubtil bodies not formed to bear the leaft celd, which otherwife either kills them,
or lays them in a ftate of infenfibility. - See,in the mean time, Ariftot. Hift. Animal,
L.v.c. 19, Ulyff Aldrovand. de Infect. L. vi. c. 9.. Th. Bartholin. de ufu nivis
medic. c. 9. Ewerhard, Happelii Mund. Mirab. Tom. i. L. ii. c. 7.

J SECT.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORV AY. ip

‘ Weg Bo Toy Tin

Of the Caterpillar-kind there are fome {mall ones that are found caterpillar.
in houfes, and are called Mol, that is, Moths ; they fpoil cloaths::
others live in fields and gardens, where they are known by the
name of Kaal Orm, and do a vaft deal of mifchief; others
live on the trees, and damage the fruit: we have them here
in great variety, and worthy to fall under Reaumur’s exami-
nation.) nf

What in this place 1s to be obferved as the country’s peculiar
property, 1s, firft, that thefe Worms particularly love our Nor-
way hawthorn trees, where their web is found fixed fometimes
like a fine gauze; fo that it feems they are fatisfied with the
leaves of this fhrub, for want of mulberry leaves; and then the
Butterflies, which afterwards come forth from their N ymphis, Butterflies,
are not only of various colours and glofs, as in other places *, but
there is formed. here one very rare and peculiar fort, which is
quite blue ; of which a friend of mine fent a pair very lately to
Copenhagen, to be put in the rare collection of Infe&ts which’ his
excellence, the fecret conference counfellor, count Rabe, has be-
gun, and is determined to enlarge. ]

Bees, Bier, do not generate here : our Summers are too fhort
for them, but yet Hlumble-bees, and other flying Infe@s, are
very frequent.. We have common Flies, large and fmall, black, russ.
grey, and brown, with fpotted and ftriped wings, ‘They are all
feen here, particularly in the Autumn, in fuch quantities that
they are very troublefome in the houfes. And we have large and —
{mall Gnats much more numerous; which, with their buzzing cnats;
and flinging, awake the fleeping: they would be infufferable, if -
they were not drove away by fmoaking the bed-chamber.

We have particularly a fort of large gnat, called Mehenk,
which gives the moft trouble. Ol. Magn. obferves, L. xix, c,
15. that when the fouth wind blows in Winter, there comes
forth from the earth, from under the fnow, vatt quantities of
{mall Gnats, that fwarm mightily about, till the north-wind
blows, which kills them; but they revive, or come to life

* La prodigieufe varieté des formes des infeétes de differentes clafits & de diffe-
rens genres, offre un grand fpectacle A qui fcait les confideret : Quelle varieté dans
Ja figure de leurs corps, dans le nombre de leurs jambes, dans leur arrangement &
dans la figure & ftructure des ailes; dont les unes” font des efpeces de gazes & dont
Tes autres font couvertes de pouffiere, de figures regulieres & arrangées, comme des

tuiles. Autres ailes ont des étuis, dans lefquels elles fe tiennent le plus fouvent pliées
par art. Reaumur L. C. T. i. p. i. p, 17, |

again,

48

Wood-lice.

Fleas.

Beetles.

Ants.

-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

again, as foon as the fouth wind, which firft brought them, fets
in again. .

C. Linnzus, inshis Fauna Suecica, p. 326. takes notice of a
fort df ‘Flies, which are very common in Finmark: Nigra eft,
eculi rubent, fub his linea alba, abdomen nigro & incarno tefle-
latum ; thorax tribus canis lineis differt a precedente, quod
dimidio minor, quod non uti prior fub volatu bombos edat, quod
non ita putrida querat, quodque aliter generetur. Sola magni-

_ tudo in facie externa diftin@am reddit, Vix eandem fpeciem cre

derem. In Finmarchia Norvegize integras domos fere replet *.

SE Ch. Tx

Wood-lice are common here as 1n other places; a well-known
plague, and particularly if they have their origin in fir-wood,
of which moft houfes are built ; but which trees, according to
their kinds, yield them or not, (for there is a difference); the
farmers can diftinguifh whether they will warm, as foon as they

‘cut into the wood. - )

A fort of fmall black Infe&s, called Frofk, are feen in Norway,
hopping about in the grafs like Fleas; and there are alfo fome
other nearly of the fame fhape, but not leaping or jumping:
thefe laft keep upon the leaves of feveral trees, and are.in the
beginning green, but are afterwards of a reddifh white: thefe
find their food there, and they curtoufly carve and pierce the
leaves of feveral trees, and curl and rojl them up, to put their
furry web between the two membranes, and lay theireggs.

Beetles, Skarn Baffer, called here ‘Tordiveler, are of feveral
forts}; and amongft them we have fome, which, from their horned
heads, are called Flyvende, Flying-ftags, or Stag-horn’d Beetles:
thefe are found in the woods, and particularly on oak-trees, and

ferve; with other Infects, for food -for birds.

Ants we have of two forts, with and without wings, and we

have a red, as well as a dark brown one: they are found here in
the fir-woods in vaft quantities||. There is is fometimes found

" * The fpecies thus defcribed by Linneeus is no other than our common Houfe-fly. ;
_.4+ This fort is mentioned by Jo. Suammerdam, ‘in Hitt. Infector. p. 104, fequ. He
names fix large, 32 middling, and 127 fmaller fpecies; but fuch a detail concerning
the Norvegian kinds in particular, is not to be expected here, either of thefe or other
Infeéts, tho’ I could with fomebody elfe would undertake it; perhaps there might be
found a great many fpecies in Norway, unknown to other places.

|| Some are of opinion, that the wings are only the diftinétion of the he-kind.
Mares alatos dixi, foeminas maximas pennatas, neutras minimasimpennes. Neutra
cohabitant per annum, acervofque exitruunt. Mares & foeminz quam primum
prodeunt generant ovaque deponunt. Mox his peractis, expelluntur ambo a neutris.
C. Linnzus Fauna Suec. p. 306. ,

in

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 49

in Ant-hillocks what is called Norfk-Virak, which is but little

inferior to the oriental refins; this the Ant gathers from the

refinous moifture that runs from the fir-trees, and feparates it

with its feet ; it then moiftens it, and mafticates it fo long,

that 1t becomes a well-fcented refin, of which I can fhow a

f{pecimen. ert to pakit's to
SEC T.. XI.

Of the Infe&ts which belong to the element of water, ‘there’
might, with nice examination, I am perfuaded, be found: many
ftrange and unknown; for what our eyes, without trouble or mtich:
examination can difcover, are not near fo many as are found, by.
microfcropes, and from their minutenefs efcape the naked. eye.-
One ought to be provided with) exceeding good magnifying
gaffes, or microfcopes, if one would make difcoveries of this
kind. ! |
_ What I can remember to have particularly remarked, in regard
to Water-Infects, worthy of obfervation, and any ways ufeful, is.
confined to thefe following kinds. guitar
_ Firft, the little round Beetle: this is fmall and black, round ag water-
a ball, and has a little thin narrow tail ; horfes and cows are often
hurt by fwallowing this kind in their water. inarety
~ We have alfo an extraordinary, and otherwife to me unknown
Infe&, larger than an Ear-wig, and fomething like it, but very
different in the head; it having two crooked horns bending”
towards each other, which open and fhut like a pair-of pincers 5.
and which I, for want of a known name, will call Kniber, till:
fuch time as we know better; with thefe weapons’ this little
animal does a deal of mifchief to the fmall fith. A friend
of mine, that has a country-hovfe a little way from town, and.
near to it a good fifh-pond, affures me, that this little infec
annually deftroys, vaft quantities of fith there, particularly of.
his young carp; the breed of which, at a great expence, he
bad imported from Germany: he had_.no luck in attempting to
breed them ; for not only the fpawn, but the young ones, are
deftroyed when they are grown to fome bignefs*. Almoft the
fame inconveniency is caufed by a fort of Water-Fleas with Jong: Water-Fles,
legs; they will fhoot and leap about upon the water, and then
duck ; and with their fharp, tho’ fubtil minute trunk, fting the

fifth, and fuck their blood 3 but they don’t keep it long, for, like
. . This is the Worm of one of the large Libellze, or Dragon-flies, 3

Parr. II. biel "s fe

50

Red-Worm.

Bear-fith.

NATURAL HISTORYW of VORPXY.

the aforefaid horned infed, they! dilcharge:avred sliqnor ont
after, through the probofeis that hadfuck’ditin fs.

On the coaft of the: Weftern ocean, in the water betweem the
many iflands:andcliffs near thatefhore,:in warm Sammer!daysy _
are found): more or \lefs, .cand fome® years immienfe quantities
of a kind of fmall, and hardly perceptible Red-Worm, called
Roe-Aat ; they look like the fineft fewing filk ; they are hardly
half the length of a pin, but in fuch numberlefs quantities, as has
been ‘faid, that’ they perfe&tly colour’ the ‘water ; one quart ‘of
water may contain many millions. “When the Worms appear in
fuch great quantities they do vaft damage to the herring-fithing,
for the roe of the fifh immediately rots on their fixing on it, and
particularly when they are inclofed, or drove up in a creek,-as
fometimes they are, by feveral hundred or thoufand tuns together,
to be rinfed and falted occafionally ; which fhall be fpoken of in
its proper place. | bic
“From thefe Roe-Aat it fhould feem: that a certain fort of Snails
get that red colour, ‘which ecéafions the excrements of one of our
coaft birds, called Teiften, which lives chiefly on thofe {nails, to
be of a very high ‘red colotir’; ‘this they drop all along the fhore.
We may probably have’ Purple-Snails' of the fame kind as the
Oriental, tho’ not regatddd! 190? Hi His eres site sete
“We have here alfo’ a kind of ‘mifchievous fea-infect, © called.
Filke-Biorn, that is, the Béar-fifh, by the common people: it
has a whitifh, hard and fhining horny fhell, divided by twelve
rings: or ciftlés §| and’on the undermoft or flat fide it has twelve
feet. The largeft of thefe‘as’F’ have feen, and of which E have,
is about ‘thé length “of a joint of a finger, but the leaft not a
quarter part {6 big ;‘and they differ in colour. “Thefe’ vermin
plague variotis forts of fifh, but moft.of any the cod.) =
‘When he hangs’ to a hook, and cannot clear himfelf’ by fwim-
ming or fplafhing, then the Fifke-Biorn faftens on him, ‘and facks _
out his juice and fat, fo that the cod won’t be fit to eat. Thefe
Fikke-Biorne,or the like Infes, “hunt many fifh about fo, that
they feck forland’by way of fhelter, about the rocks near there,
accorditig to the Creator’s wife and’ gracious purpofes:' particularly

the falmion is ferved {0; a fifth otherwife with us difficult to catch.
If it'was not'for a number of green and blueifh flat lice, fome-

thing like bugs; which get between his fins, and plague him fo,

+ De pulice aquatico Hr. Swammerdam has very pretty obfervations in his Hift.
Infeét. p. 70: asalfo Derham in his Phyfico-Theolog, p. m. 368; snr | >

The creature intended by this author is the Notonecta, or Boat-fly; not the Pulex
Aquat. of Swammerdam, and others. tse

: , a .

NATURAL HISTORY of MORPHY

that he feeks for rivers or water-falls, to wath them off, we

“yr re

poifonous in it ||.
A fhort and thick Sea~-Worm is found here alfo,

know a name; it is about the length and thicknef§ of a finger, Unknown

quite white, without head or tail, and with only one opening at Wo

the end, which doubtlefs ferves for'a paflage for both, aliments
and’excremenfs:i 2s) 41) J0.-tokegh Sas 40s Moro GL HOOT, ©

The ffomach is as long as the Worm, and there is to fign
of entrails; the flefh is white and tough, and’ of ‘a. pretty hard
fubftance. RAEI O Peers, Mer ted hae tye aetg

Pere Labat fays that the Americans dat a Water-worm, which,
according to his defcription, very much refembles this, but is fome-
thing larger. UG S394 593 Fed AE POG ge Ot AAS O0 |

i

* Hippocampus nomen compofitum eft ex diGtione fzoe, qui equum fignificat, &
wouTrh, que erucam, quia erucam imitatur, non. modo corporis flexura, fed etiam

circulis, quibus ut infecta diftingnitur, Willough, L. iveicig: pi Bez.
i This is properly a fith of the Syngathus kind, not an Infect;

“S$ECT.

52

Conchz ava-
tificze,

Fable of
Geefe faid to
grow on trees.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORV AY
ig aM hos AI ogi are

To the Infe&a Aquatica I have yet to add that little creature,
which generates in the Conche avitifice ; and, according ‘to the

general tradition, fhould be a young Duck or Goofé, of that

fort that we‘commonly call Stok-Ainder, and alfo Vand-Eller:
and by fome Angle-Tasker ; which laft name I rather give them,
becaufe the fhell looks fomething like a pocket. The birds which
have been fuppofed hatched. from thefe, generate in the common
way ; ¥ fhall give an account of thefe in the following chapter
of birds. That any kind of fowls fhould grow upon trees, and
be properly and truly called Tree Geefe, is a thing which I have
narrowly examined into, and find without the leaft foundation ;
tho’ it 1s here, and in other, places, taken on’ the credit of one
from another. Hr. Jonas Ramus writes thus in his Chorographi-
cal Defcription of Norway, p. 244, concerning this matter:
It is faid that a particular fort of Geefe is found in Nordland (one
may fay, with a great deal of truth, that thofe that are fuppofed
to be Angle-Taskers, are found in many mote places here on the
weit fide of Norway) which leave their feed on old. trees, and.
ftumps and blocks lying in the fea ; and that from that feed there
grows a fhell faft to the tree, from which fhell, as from an egg, by
the heat of the fun, young Geefe are hatched, and afterwards
grow up; which gave rife to the fable, that Geefe grow upon
trees. So far Hr. Ramus, who looks upon it as a fable: but how
are we tocomprehend fuch an ambiguous way of talking, namely,
to grow upon trees? This, he fays, is not to be underftood to
grow like fruit growing on a tree*; on the contrary, his
opinion is, that Geefe grow on old piles and timber bulwarks,
and the. like at the fea fide; namely, when the Wild-Goofe has
dropped or left his feed on the piles, &c. which gives fome
a ground and reafon for the belief of it. At the fame time I
may inform the reader, that the well-deferving, and otherwife
not credulous, Hr. Ramus, lived in the eaft country, full 50
Norway miles from thefe coafts, otherwife he would have
better examined into the origin or rife of this opinion, and not
have been fo liable to miftake. Let meet ene

‘The truth is this, that on the aforefaid old timber piles, and
alfo on the keels of old fhips, there is feen to grow, as by the

* Michael Meyerus endeavoured to maintain this opinion in a particular treatife;
De volucri arborea; and ina public fentence, in the Sorbonne at Paris, upon it, it
was allowed that thefe Geefe, for that reafon, were not to bereckoned amongit birds ;
and therefore allowed to be eat in Lent and fafting feafons. Mich. Bernh. Valentini

Muf. Mufeorum, Lib. iii. p. 466:
+ exact

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

exact drawing annexed appears. ‘T'his peculiar creature is of
about a finger’s length and half, and an inch broad, and pretty
thick::.at is brown and fpungy, a little curl’d or fhrivell’d, like
an apple, when it is dry’d 5 {fo that at firft it may be twice the
length. Its neck is tough and hollow, like the finger of a glove:
when it 1s opened there is nothing to be feen, but fome {mall and
fine deep black filaments; thefe are like bunches of flax all
through. The one end of the neck is made faft to the timber, in
manner of a {punge ; the other, or the end that hangs down, has
a double fhell, of a light blue colour, and of fubftance like a
mufcle-fhell, but much lefs, about the fize of an almond, and,

dike it, of a fharp oval figure. When this fhell is opened,

there is found in it the little creature reported to be a young
Wild Goofe. Almoft its whole fubftance, which is compofed of
{mall toughifh membranes, reprefents fome little crooked dark
feathers, {queezed together, their ends running together in a
clufter : hence it has been fuppofed to be of the Bird kind. At the
extremity of the neck alfo there is fomething that looks like an
extreme {mall Bird’s head ; but one muft take the force of imagi-
‘nation to help to make it look fo: this I have conftantly found
on many examinations ; and in all my enquiries, I cannot learn
that any one has ever feen any thing more ; though there are many
who pretend to appeal to witneffes for the fact, that have feen
this young Goofe, as they call it. I will allow that they may
have feen in this fhell a living Sea-Infect, as it certainly is, but
nothing elfe. | :
When the Duck’s egg is opened, the young one is never found
like this, confifting of nothing but feathers ; they on Ducklings
come afterwards, in the place of the down, which appears firft ;
but here is no down, and there feems to be no body, nothing but
long, crooked, fqueezed up feathers, with a little point, or fimall
button, at the end, that may refemble a head, if fancy will have
it fo, as has been faid. |
The opinion of the Geefe’s ejected feed is, fetting all the reft
afide, doubly improbable, in confideration that the fame conchz
anatiferse are found not only on old timber, floating on the
water, but alfo on fimall branches of fuch {ea-trees as the fifher-
mien alfirm grow only in the deep ocean, from the very bottom,
at 100 fathom or more. [have fome of fuch branches, with this
firange growth on them. Where the grow no bird can come ;
and their evacuations, efpecially the fluid kind, cannot fink thi.
ther; or be collected in a ftate of prolification, I will not take
upon me to difcufs how contrary to nature one might call fuch a
| Parr il. P generation,

53 a

54

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.
generation, from the femen of the male, without the affiftance
of the female egg; but in the mean time, it is in this:cafe- as
in many other branches of the ftudy of nature, in which one: may
with a certainty affert what a thing is not, though, at the fame
time, one cannot pofitively fay what it is. I remember to have
heard, though only by report, and that not the beft warranted;
that in France, from the like fhells, yet hanging to their necks,
have been féen feveral {mall Worms crawling into life and liberty.
Georgius Marcgravius feems to have been of this opinion; and in
his Hiftoria Naturalis Brafilize, Lib. iv.cap. xxi. p. 188, fays of
the fame Sea-worms or Infects growing on trees, what here fol-
lows: Reri apiya Brafilienfibus, vulgo Long-neck, Hydrum vo-
cari pofle puto. Oriuntur a pice navali, fubter navem imme-
diate adherentes tabulis innumera copia. Corpus autem eft unum
aut duos digitos longum, teres, equaliter craflum, craflitie du-=
pla, penne anferinz. Huic annata eft conchula figure ovalis,
magnitudine olive, major aut minor, conftatque quinque partt-
bus, albi coloris, fed ubi partes coaluerunt crocel. Non dura
fed mollinfcula eft conchula. In uno: latere rimam habet, per
quam capitulum {uum exferit, conftans multis elegantibus quafi
tornatis filamentis, lunatis, femi-digitum longis. Color corporis
eft fufcus feu nigricans, ut & filamenta capitis. Immediate
autem pici adherent, quafi corpus abfciffum effet, & agglutt-
natum abfcifla parte, nec unquam a navi fe poffunt folvere, nif
vi abftrahuntur : Multa millia feepe uni navi adherent, preefer-
tim proram verfus inferius, & navis curfum retardare dicuntur.
Vivunt multas horas detraGti extra aquam. What 1 have’ to
obferve on this is, that though Marcgravius does not allow this
creature to be a young Duck, but properly a Water-worm,
yet he is miftaken to fay, Oriuntur e pice navali ; rather better in
pice :it is only becanfe the Worm perhaps finds a better opportu-
nity to ftick his eggs there. Our Bergen ikippers fay, that when
they come home from a long voyage from Spain, or the Me-
diterranean, and have their fhips clean’d, they find a great -

- many of thefe creatures hanging in bunches all under the bot-_

toms ; that the pitch does not breed thefe worms is fufficiently
feen ; for at any time, by fearching for them, they are to be found
on bulwarks and piles, which are never pitched; not to men-
tion thofe which I have of the fame kind, hanging upon branches
of thofe deep growing {ea-trees, as has already been faid. To
confirm the truth of this, more will be faid in the following
chapter, and will be found in the article of Ducks. I thall further

guote O. Wormius’s words, in Mufeo, p. 257. De harumavium
| generatione _

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

generatione variant autores. Quidam more aliarum avium per
- Coitum propagari putant, quidam ex ligno putri nafci volunt,
alii ex corruptis arboris cujufdam pomis, alii ex conchis. Quorum
fententias & rationes expendere hoc loco, noftri non eft inftituti.
Ut nihil de 11s dicam, qui ftatuunt, diverfas efle aves, que ex
conchis proveniunt, ab iis, que ex putridis lignis aut pomis or-
tum trahunt. Immo non defunt, qui ex quovis ligno nafci pofle
ad{truant, dummodo in mari & undis juxta Hebrides putredinem
concipiant. Juft as doubtful writes Jul. Czef. Scaliger about this
Infe&, Exercit. 59. Se&. 2. and fays, that on the French coaft
they are called Craban. It is a pity that Doct. Grothaufen’s Ex-
amination of this Infect is not come to light ; on which are Hr.
Frid. Chrift. Leffer’s words, in his Teftaceo Theologico, P. i. L. i.
C. 3. §. 112, p. 442, thus: Anno 1732, the following writing
was promifed: Specimen Anatomico-Phyficum, quo genuina
magis & accuratior hiftoria conche Pholadis pfeudochenez, vulgo
anatiferee dict, que anili fabulz, quod anferum quoddam genus
~ in arboribus crefcat, anfam dedit, ratione & experientia ftabilitur,
& figuris zneis, ad vivum incifis, illuftratur, ad demonftrandam
fummi Numinis exiftentiam contra Atheos & concelebranda miri-
fica ejus opera & infinite ftupenda, in lucem editum a T. W.
Grothaus. M. D. I wrote on that account Anno 1740, to a friend
in Copenhagen, who, on the 2zoth of December, advifed, it was
not publifhed. The late learned Grothaufen had undertaken, ac-
cording to account, to write a Natural Hiftory of all the king’s
dominions; but that good man’s death at St. Thomas’s, in the
Welt Indies, fruftrated our hopes ; he was otherwife qualified
for the undertaking, preferable to me, and perhaps any other.

CHA P.

55.

56

The order of
Birds accord-
ing to their
feveral claffes.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
CHAPTER IL.
OF BIRDS,

Sect. 1. Order and divifion. Sect. 1l..Of Amphibious Birds, their nature
and properties. Seer. III, Dangerous bird-catching in fome places. Szcr,
IV. The Grow/fe, and feveral other kinds. -Suct. V. The Dove, and feveral
others. Sect. VI. Ducks, and other Water-fowl. Sect. VU. The Falcon,
and other like kinds. Suct. VIII. The Kite, and feveral others. Sect. IX.
Of several Sea and Frefh=-water Birds,

ie Gye aril

N the Natural Hiftory of Norway, the defcription of Birds

is yet to come, and that of the Fifh; they make the two
moft interefting heads: and firft, fomething is to be faid in re-
gard to the divifion and order of Birds into their proper claffes.
Aldrovandus, Gefnerus, Willughbicus, Zornius*, Klein, and
others, who, ex profeflo, have treated on Ornithology, or the
Hiftory of Birds, in particular writings, clafling them either by

_ their element, or where’ they take up their abode, their magni- |

tude, or form ; particularly their claws and bills, their legs, way
of fubfifting, their fervices or injuries to mankind: but as I on
one fide allow that thefe limitted diftinG@tions would give a more
diftinct idea of them, and would be matter for a treatife on the
fubject alone, where all the known Birds of all countries might
have place, and make all the clafles compleat ; I find on the
other hand, that which ever of thefe methods of clafling one
chufes, there will be no quite diftin&@, or abfolute feparate
bounds, to be expected: many Birds, in one refpect, may belong
to a certain clafs; but have, in another refpect, fomething
which, with as much reafon, would range them in another: con-
fequently there is no rule without exceptions, contractions, or
extenfions. _

For this. reafon, I have not thought it neceflary to confine the
reader’s thoughts to any of the before-mentioned clafles, and
particularly as none would be compleat, efpecially with enume-

* This author treats the moft regular and moft amply, but is rather too prolix on
the diftinétions of Birds, and the limits of thofe diftinctions, in his Petino Theologic.
P. ii. c. 1. from §. 1 to §. 81. |

7 rating’

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

_ gating of Norway Birds alone, without introducing thofe from
foreign countries, which I do not intend in any article, only fo
far as. it may be neceffary by way of parallel, or to clear up any
capital point of my own. )

T have therefore followed the names in ‘my own language, in
alphabetical order, and, in the fubjoined fhort defcriptions, have
faid as much as will fhew to what clafs each belongs ; yet
neverthelefs, if any body is defirous of feeing the names of
the Land Birds, Water Birds, and thofe of the fhores, at one
view, the Land Birds of Norway are the following, according to
their names alphabetically in that language : Aarfugl, Akerloe,
Aker Rixe, Allikke, Berg-ugle, Bogfinke, Dompap, Droffel, Due,
Egde, Elvekonge, Erle, Falk, Flagger muus, Foflefald, Gertrud-
fugl, Glente, Gog, Heibe-hog, Honne, Horfegog, Jerpe, Irisk,
Knotter, Kiodmeife, Kraze, Lerke, Natvake, Nordvinds-pibe,
Orn, Raun, Regnfpo, Ringetroft, Sibenfchwantz, Susgen, Skade,
Sneefugl, Sneppe, Sondenswindfugl, Spurre, Steer, Steendulp,
'“Stillitz, Tiur, Vagtel, Vibe, Uele. :
The Birds that fubfift only upon fith, floating moftly on the
water, and ducking under, tho’ not all equally deep, are the
Alke and Ducks, tame and wild, of many forts, Edder or Eider-
fugl, Geefe tame and wild, of various forts, the Hav Aare, Hav
Heft, Hav Sule, Immer Langivie, Lom, Lund, Savern, Skare,
Skrabe, Svane. |

The Shore Birds are thofe which, I have jatt faid, haunt the
coa{t, or live about the water that runs between the cliffs, rocks,
and iflands, detached from the continent, and feed partly upon,
fmall fifh, {uch as they can reach with their bill, and partly upon
infects, fhell-fith and weeds; the ebb and flood daily produces
plenty and variety of food for thefe: they dont venture to g0
out far, or where it is deep, and fo are ina manner amphibious.
Of the number of thefe are the Heigre, Boefiar, Fier Kurv, Fiske
Folck, Fiske Orn, Fiskeh age, Jo fugl, Kiald, Krykkie, Laxetite,
Maafe or Maage, of various forts, Sand Tol, Sand Terne, Skiee,
Spave, Strand Erle, Strand Sneppe, Teitt, Tield, Temd. |

SE C'T. “TE.

Among the firft, namely the clafs of Land Birds, are to be found
but few, but what are known alfo in Denmark 3 and I may fay
in moft other European countries, unlefs we except the Tiuren,
Jerpen and Rypen ; but in the two laft claffes of Water and Coaft
Fowl, Norway has by much the greateft number, and among:
thofe, fome that are little known in, tho’ others incommon with

Parr II, : Q th the

Sy

58

Their num-
bers by the
fea-fide.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

the countries lying oppofite, viz. Scotland and the Orkneys,
Feroerne and Iceland ; there are others again that I never could
find out any where elfe, as far as my intelligence could reach; and
this is certainly one of thofe bounties, not fufficiently regarded,
the great Creator has beftowed on this country, that particularly
the weft fide, which, with its numberlefs harbours, creeks, iflands,
high cliffs, hollow mountains and caves, is fortified, by the wife
and good Creator, as a particular refuge and afylum for an incom-
prehenfible, and indeed. almoft incredible number of Sea and
Shore-Fowls, which fometimes are obferved out at fea, at the
diftance of two or three Norway miles*, in fuch large flights,
that they obfcure the heavens, and one would imagine all the
Sea-Fow] of the univerfe were gathered together in one flock +.
Thefe Birds, with thew feathers and down, which are gathered
and fent to foreign parts, and partly with their flefh and eggs
together, afford the inhabitants a very good maintenance, befides
the extraordinary good grafs that grows after the manure
left by the dung of thefe Birds, on the iflands, and even in the
ocean, which frequently looks white, and as if it were covered
with it and the eggs in the nefts of thefe Strand Birds. |

Not all the eggs, but fome fort ef them, are as good as hens
eros, and great quantities come to market in this town, where

- the bakers in particular know how to ufe them; the fhells are of

General Pro-
pertics.

various colours and fizes, as fhall afterwards be obferved concerning?
each of them, as far as my intelligence- reaches; moft of them
are white, green, or brown, and almoft all have black fpots on
them ; the Water Fugle ege-fhell is fomething thicker, and alfo
the white in a greater quantity, than in others; for which Count
Aloyfius Marfili, in his Danub. Panon, Tom. v. p. 124, aferibes
this reafon, that the young Sea Birds, which are nourifhed by

* One Norway mile is about fix Englifh miles.

+ The large quantity of Sea Fowl that are in Norway, agrees with what Dr. Harvey
writes of the Scotch, de Generat. Animal. exercit. xi. with Deufing. in fine Differtat.
de Anferibus Scoticis. Eft infula parva, Scoti. Boffe nominant, haud amplius mille
paffuum circuitu amplitudo ejus clauditur. Hujus infule fuperficies, menfibus Maio &
Junio, nidis, ovis pullifque propemodum tota inftrata eft, adeo ut vix, pre eorum
copia, pedem libére ponere liceat: tantaque fupervolantium turba, ut nubium initar,
folem coelumque auferant: tantufque vociferantium clangor & {trepitus, ut prope al-
loquentes vix audias. Si fubjectum mare inde, tanquam ex edita turri & altiffimo.
precipitio defpexeris, idem quoquoverfum, infinitis diverforum generum avibus
natantibus pradeque inhiantibus, opertum videas. Si circum navigando imminentem
clivum fufpicere libuerit ; videas in fingulis prerupti loci crepidinibus & receffibus,
avium cujuflibet generis & magnitudinis, ordinis innumerabiles, plures fane quam
nocte, fereno czlo, ftelle confpiciuntur. Siadvolantes avolantefque eminus ad{pexeris,
apum profeéto ingens examen credas. Haud facile dixerim, quantus reditus quotannis
ex plumis ovorumque co¢torum commercio poffeffori accedat ; adeo quod ipfe mihi
narrayit, idem exfuperat. What Harvey has faid of the way of boiling the Sea-fowls:
eggs to fell them with great profit, is not ufed in Norway; the refit agrees. 7
ett! oe tne

“NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY. 39

‘the white of thefe eggs, are longer in hatching than others, on
account of the cold *, tho’ this does not agree with my obfer-
vations, as will be feen in the following pages. But certainly |
there is to be feen the providence of our great and benevolent God's provi-
Creator, in giving thefe eggs a thicker fhell, without doubt, “"~
according to Mr. Anderfon’s obfervations, in his defcription of
flands, §..L. i. p.m. 46, to prevent their perifhing with the
cold, which is owing to their being near the water, and the
_ dam’s long abfence in fearch of food ; tho’ moft forts of Water
-Fugle live, for that reafon, in a kind of married ftate, and orderly
take their turns, the cock and hen alternately fitting on the
egos; and when ‘tis the hen’s turn, the cock often ftands at
fome diftance as a watch or centinel, to. guard her. Thofe that
leave their eggs, and come again to them in the hollow cracks
and holes of the cliffs and rocks, where hundreds are laying
together, never mifs their own, tho’a man could not diftinguith
them. See Zorgdrager Groenland{cher Vifcher, P. ii. c. 14.
ps 153. +& 4
. The fleth of certain Water Birds, particularly the Duck’s, and
that of fome others, is very fat and eatable ; others, from the fithy
tafte which they acquire by eating fat and ill-tafted fith, are not
very fit for the table, unlefs they are firft parboiled in vinegar;
others again are pickled by the farmers, and are very good that
way ; by that means other meat is faved, and may be fent to town
to be fold. But the principal advantage they yield is their
feathers, particularly the Edder-fuglens, Lundens, and Alkens,
which are frequent every where on this coaft ; but the fineft and
moft profitable are got in the Nordland diftri@s ; they are oa-
thered and annually fent down to the merchants in at Bergen. —
Frideric Martens obferves in his Spitsbergenske Travels,
cap. ll. p. 60, that all Sea Birds in the hardeft ftorms turn their
heads againft the wind, that it may nt fpread their feathers, but
vather clofe them together to keep the body warm.

SECT. II.

_ How each of thefe different forts of Birds are taken will ap-
pear in the following pages; and as far as I can find, they are
obliged to ufe different methods, But firft I thall give the reader
— * Quia ex folo albumine feetus formatur, longum nihilominus tempus requiritur,

ufquedum ad perfectionem five, exclufionem pervenerit, ob impedimentum humi-

ae feu frigoris, quod fentiunt in nidis fuis, quos {femper in, aut circa aquas
-€xitruunt, :

fome

60

cannot be read without furprize.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

fome account of the moft important and dangerous way of bird-
catching, which is practifed here more than in any. other place,
and moftly at Tranen, Varoe, Moskoe, and Rutt, in the aboveaid
Nordland diftriéts, where they keep dogs trained on purpofe, to
fetch the Shore or Strand-Birds out of their holes, which are
almoft inacceffible. In this diftri& one farmer muft not keep a
greater number of thefe dogs than his neighbour, that he may
not prejudice him in his livelihood: the dogs as well as the farmers
yun the greateft hazard of their lives, and fometimes perifh by
unhappy falls; for they either climb up thofe exceffive high and
{teep rocks, finding but here and there a hold or place for their
feet ; or elfe they are let down from the top, 100 fathoms or more,
that they may get into the hollews under the projeGing cliffs,
and caves formed by nature. At Feroe, which exports annually
feveral thoufand pounds worth of feathers to Copenhagen, there

4s held a Bird-hunt of this kind, which is circumftantially de-

fcribed by Mr. Lucas Debes, who was many years a dean in that
country ; and I (hall therefore, out of his Fxroa Referata, p. 140,
& feq. often quoted before, infert what relates thereto, which

It is not to be defcribed, he fays, with what trouble and danger
they look for the Birds in the high and fteep rocks, many of
which are more than 200 fathoms perpendicular ; awd there are
particular people who, by nature, are fitted for this kind of bird-
catching, and are called Bird-men: they make ufeof two methods.
to catch them; they either climb up thefe perpendicular rocks,
or elfe are let down from the top by a ftrong and thick rope:
when they climb up they have a large pole, of eleven or twelve
ells in length, with an iron hook at the end: they who are
underneath in the boat, or ftand on a cliff, faften this hook to the
waiftband of the man’s breeches who climbs, and a rope round his
waift; by which means they help him up to the higheft helde,
or projection, that he can reach, and fix his feet upon ; then
they help another up to the fame place ; and. when they are both
up, then they give them each their bird-pole in their hands, and
a long rope tied round each other's waift at each end; then the
one climbs up as high as he can, and where it 1s difficult, the other,
by putting his pole under his breech, pufhes him up, till he
gets to a good helde, or flanding-place: the uppermoft of the
two then helps the other up to him with the rope, and fo on, till
they get to the place where the Birds build, and there fearch about
after them as they pleafe. As there are in thefe rocks many dange-

yous places they are yet to climb, whilft they are bound
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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

with a ftrong rope, one always feeks a convenient place to ftand
fure, and be able to hold himfelf faft, whilft the other is climbing
about. If the latter fhould happen to flip, then he is held up
by the other, who ftands firm, and helps him up again; and
when he has got fafe by thofe dangerous places, then he fixes
himfelfin the fame manner, that he may affift the other to come
fafe to him; and then they clamber about after Birds where
they pleafe. But accidents fometimes happen ; for if the one does
not ftand firm, or is not {trong enough to fupport the other
when he flips, they both fall, and are kill’d ; and this way there
are fome every year deftroyed.

Hr. Peder Claufon, in his Defcription of Norway, writes, that
in former times there was a law in the country, that when any

one by climbing the rocks fell, and was killed, and his body.

was found, that then his neareft relation fhould go the fame
way. If he could not, or would not venture, then the deceafed
was not allowed a chriftian burial, but treated as a criminal, who
had, by that means, been his own executioner ; but that law is
not in force now a days.

When they, in the manner already related, get up the rocks
to the Birds, in thofe places where they feldom come, the Birds
are fo tame that they may take them up with their hands 3 for
they do not readily leave their young : but where they are wild,
there they either throw a net over them in the rock, or elfe thofe
that are flying away, or come flying in again, they throw their
poles againft with a net on them, and {fo entangle them in it.
This way they catch vaft numbers of the Lumvifer, Alliker, and
Lunder. In the mean time there is a boat lying underneath, on
the fea, into which they throw their dead fowl, and fo quickly
fill the veffel. When the weather is tolerably good, and there
isa good deal of game, the birdmen will lie eight days together
in the rocks; for there are here and there holes that they can
fafely and fecurely reft in; and provifion is let down to them by
lines, and others go every day tothem with little boats, to fetch
what they catch.

Many rocks are fo frightful and dangerous that they cannot
poflibly climb up them ; for which reafon, they continue to get
down from above, which they call to fie; this is the fecond way
of fearching for Birds, and is done thus: they have a {trong rock-
line, or rope, eighty or an hundred fathom long, and about three
inches in thicknefs; one end of this the birdman faftens about
his waift in the place of a belt, and then he draws it betwixt
his legs, fo that he can fit on it; and fo he is let down with his
w@ Part. II. R- bird-

6L

62.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORV4Y.

‘bird-pole im his hand: fix men at top hold the rope, letting it

fink by degrees, but lay-a piece of timber on the edge of the
rock, for it to flideon, that it fhould not be torn to pieces om
the fharp edge of the ftones: they have another line faftened round
the man’s waift, which he pulls, to give figns when he would be
pull’d up, or let lower, or held ftill, that he may remain on the
place he is come to. This way the man is in great danger from
the ftones loofening by the rope, and fo falling; which he cannot
keep off : for this reafon, he generally has on a failor’s blue farrd
cap, which is thick, and well lined, and in fome meafure faves
the blows the ftones may give, if they are not too large; other-
wife it often cofts him his life. Thus they often expofe them-
felves to the moft imminent danger, merely to get a {ubfiftence
for their poor families, trufting in God’s mercy and protection ; to
which the greateft part of them ferioufly recommend themfelves
before they undertake the dangerous work. There are fome
indeed who fay there is no great danger in it, excepting that when
they have not learnt the practice, or are not accuftomed to it, the
rope runs round about with them till their heads are turn’d, and
they can do nothing to fave themfelves. It 1s in itfelf trouble-
fome, and requires dexterity ; yet thofe that have learnt it make
play of it; for they know eafily how to fwing themfelves on the
line; they know how to put their feet againft the rock, and
throw themfelves feveral fathom out, and pufh themfelves in
again to what place they will; and when the Birds fit, they know
attfully how to keep themfelves faft on the line in the air, and
to hold the pole in their hands, and with 1¢ to catch numbers
flying out and coming in; and where there are holes in the rocks,
and where the rocks projet over like a cover, in which places the
Birds gather. Here they will continue (and this is the greateft
art) to throw themfelves out, and quickly to fling themfelves
in again, under the cover, to the Birds, and there to fix their
feet. When one of them gets into thefe holes he loofens himfelf
from the rope, which he faftens to a ftone, to prevent its falling
out of his reach, and then he climbs about, and catches the Birds
either with his hands, or with the pole, in the fame manner as
was {aid before; and when he has kill’d as many as he thinks
enough, he ties them together, and faftens them to the {malt
line, and by a pull gives a fign for thofe above to draw them up.
In this mannet he works all day ; and when he wants to go up,
he gives a fign to be drawn up, or elfe he works himfelf up,
with his belt full of Birds. orl

Where

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

Where it happens that there are not people enough: to hold the
large rope, then the bird-man fixes a poft in the ground, and
faftens his rope to it, and fo flides down, without any help, to
work in the aforefaid manner. Some rocks are fo formed, that
one may go down into them from the fields; then they take a

companion with them, and go in after the former manner, fearch-
ing about in the holes, and take each as many as their belt will .

hold about their waift, or as they can carry in a bundle on their
backs; and fo they carry them home. There are alfo in fome
places vaft fteep cliffs, lying under the Iand, and yet more than
100 fathom above the water, which are’ alfo very difficult to get
at. Down thefe cliffs they help one another in the manner afore-
faid, and they take a ftrong rope with them, which they faften
here and there in the cliff, where they can, and leave it all the
Summer: upon this they will run up and down, and take the
Birds at their pleafure. It is not to be defcribed how frightful
and dangerous this bird-catching appears to the beholders, parti-
cularly to confider the vaft height, and how exceflive {teep thefe
rocks are ; and many projecting over the fea. It appears impof-
fible for any human creature to get into the holes of them, and
yet more impoflible to climb up them ; and yet thefe adventurous
people feale them. They go fometimes where they can but juft
pitch the end of their toes, or lay hold with their fingers ; yet
this does not frighten them, though there'is 100 fathom down,
or more, to the a under them. » This muft be dear earned bread
for thefe poor people ; for which they fo imminently hazard their
lives, and many, after long practice, fill fall a facrifice them=
felves. | :

When thefe Birds are brought home they eat part of them
frefh, and part (if they get large quantities) is hung up to dry
for the Winter feafon. The feathers they collect together, and
make merchandize of them, to gteat advantage; and the inha-
bitants get them in fuch quantities as God pleates to give his
blefling to, and feafonable weather for it. The Birds do not
come every where in this country, but on thofe iflands that are in
towards the ocean, and have high rocks or cliffs ; as at Norder-
Oerne, Myggenas, Vaagoe, Skuoe, Dimerne, and Sudéroe $ and
in dark weather they generally get moft, for then the Birds ftay
in the rocks ; in fine, clear, and thot fun-fhiny days, they are
moftly out at fea; and toward the time of their going away
they keep towards the fea, and fit on the cliffs by the fea-fide ;
and then the people go in boats, and catch them with their poles
and nets. So far Hr. L. Debes.
wt After

63

64

The Aarfugl.

Winter-Quar-
ters.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORPYAY.

After this general account of the Norway Birds, I propofe now
to enumerate feverally all thofe forts that I have been able to eet
any. fatisfaftory imtelligence about; and that, as has been faid,
in alphabetical order, according to their Norway names.

SEC T. IV.

Aarfugl, Urhane, Urogallus, or Tetrao minor, the Growfe, is
fhaped not unlike to a common cock, but black or dark brown
in colour, and red about the eyes: the hen is much lefs brownith,
with black fpots *. . Their refort is in woods and rocks, and they
live upon buds of trees, the catkins of birch and the like; their
fleth is wholefome and well-tafted, and therefore they are very
much followed by the fportfmen. In the Winter they take care
of themfelves in this manner; they firft fill their craw with as
much food as it will hold, fo that it hangs like a bag under their
neck, whereby they are provided with fomething to live upon for
fome time ; then they'll drop themfelves down in the foft fnow,
and don’t ftay in their firft hole, but undermine and burrow in
the {now, fome fathoms from it; and there they make a fmall
opening for the bill, and thus they lie warm and comfortable
together : but the huntfman difturbs them in thelr Winter
quarters thus; he looks out for the place where he finds the fhow
appears as if it were funk in, and there he pufhes down a-pole
with a fpread net at the end of it, into which the poor feared
birds fly, and then are drawn up. 7 :

The moft convenient time for fhooting them is in the Spring
of the year, early at fun-rifing; for then the Bird lies on the
fmooth and flat ground, from whence it is called Leeg-Vold ;
for it is in the nature of it, at that feafon; to be quite heedlefs,
through its amorous difpofition, and with its eyes fhut it lies -
crowing of chirping for the hen. There commonly lie three
or four, or more, together ; fo that there isa good mark: if the
cock falls then all the hens fly away ;. but if he ftands {till
crowing, and appears to be ftupid, as is fometimes the cafe, they
fhoot again: from the cock’s bill at that time runs a ftrong
{cum or froth, which the hens peck up eagerly, and that is all,
according to the opinion of many, which ferves for procreation ;
but others deny the laft, and fay they have feen them copulate in
the ordinary manner, which appears moft credible. .

* Mas a foemina in tantum differt, ut duorum generum hujufmodi rerum imperito
videri poffint. Immo Gefnero etiam ipfi vifee funt, fays Francifcus Willugbeius in
Ornitholog. Lib. ii, cap. xii. §. 11. Pp. 125. where thefe fort of Birds are called

Tetrao Minor.

Aker-

NATURAL HISTORY of WOR UY

~ Akerloe, a fort of fmall Bird, which in the Spring& appears on Akerloe,

_ plowed land, and*picks up the worms ;‘they look a podd’ deal

like a Heiloe, (which hall be hereafter ‘noticed) but they are

fomething: lefs. ry 3 re

Aker Rixe, or Vagtel Konge, are called here by fome Ager Aker Rix

KE,

Hone, tho’ it muft not’ be taken for the Bird to which? we give
that name in Denmark ; for fuch fort of Ager-Hons are not found

in Norway as know of *. It is made a good deal like a Sneppe,
brownifh, with a pretty longifh neck and legs, but’ of the’
bignefs of a Kramsfugl; its:fleth is white, and of a delicate'tafte.

When :the corn is high enough for them ’to hide themfelves'
in, then they'll ftay and hatch'their young ones there: with their
bill they make a kind of noife like fawing or cutting fomething

hard, which is called to LiXe, and from thence the Bird has
its name. a ii heap engl

Allike, vom Kaye, Kaage, Monedula, the Jackdaw, fomething: atike.

like a fmall Crow, is called alfo Cornix Garrula, becaufe they can
be taught to fpeak a few words; this Bird builds high, and
gathers in great flights together : by the name they may be

eafily confounded with the following, tho’ they are very: different

from it.

Alk; this isa Bird peculiar to this country, and for its feathers ai.

very ufefal ; *tis.as big-as a large duck, but natrower in the breatt 4
the legs ftand clofer together, and the wings are lefs. Théy are

diftinguifhed»into two forts by the beak 3 It is on fome longifh

and narrow; in others thick, fhort, and bent on the back eens

black, excepting at the ends of the wings and tail, which are
white, as) well:as all underneath; and from the eyes there goes a

white ftripe all down the neck {; They can fith and fwim
beyond many other, but are very weak at flying or walking,
becaufe the legs are as if they were upon the rump; fo very far
behind, that. it is troublefome to move them on land ; the Bird
therefore tottets like a drunken ‘man: on this account is the
faying, He is as drunk as an Alk, The wings ate of no great
ufe, and for that reafon it is eafily taken on the neft. The

always build by the fea-fide, on the higheft and fteepeft rocks or

* B.S. 1am joft informed by a good friend,

never-were feén any Ager-hons in this country ;
colony, mioft- likely from Bahus-Lehn in Sweden, and perhaps firft from Skaane.
Thefe fixed themfelves here and in Smaalehnene, and fo on farther quite to Chriftiana,
and {pread themfelves ; patticularly after they were as it were taken into protection, by
the king’s orders) and’ had three ‘years privileges from being deftroyed: ae

tT The Alk’s bill is particularly defcribed | by
yak cap. li, p. 64, & feq. Where it appears under the name of ‘Papagey-

aucher, 0 ©. '

ioPast. IL S | cliffs,

that till about twenty years fince there

about that time they appeared like a

Prid. Martens, in his Spitzbergenfke

65

=

66 NATURAL HISTORY of VORW4N.

__ cliffs, whither thofe bold and venturefome bird-catchers purfue
Nouns them, and find 50, 80; or roo pair, fitting interchangeably
upon one anothers eggs.. Thefe refemble hens egps, and if they
do not grow cold, at the expiration of 14 days the young are
hatched, and in 14 days more they are fit to go to the fea with
the old ones. Their number is fo great, that L. Debes, in his
Defcription of Faroe, p. 133, fays they hide the fun like a cloud,
when they fly out from the rocks, and the noife of their wings
makes a roaring in the air like a ftorm. It is faid in the fame
place, that they have annually but one young one; but m
obfervers inform me that they find two eggs in the neft, and
that is little enough, in regard to the great number that is
annually catched and fhot ; fo that our Creator’s oeconomy is alfo
here aftonifhing. The Alk ts counted the greateft herring-
fither, and they will dive, according to our Strandfiddere’s
atteftations, 20 fathoms deep under the water: they have fome-
times the misfortune to miftake, and bite hold of a fifh-hook, and
fo are drawn up from that depth as fith. |
Variouskinds And we have here, befide the well-known common tame
ones, various forts of Wild Ducks, and thefe again are divided
in certain fpecies; fome keep in frefh water, and don’t care
to go to the fea, excepting in neceffity. Some have fharp-
pointed bills, which differ again in colour, being black and
brown; of which the laft are fomewhat fmaller, and are often
tufted. Both forts lay many eggs, more than any other Birds,
namely,-20 or 25; and when the young ones are hatched, then
the Drake flies away; and if, by amy accident, they become
motherlefs too, it has been obferved, that others of the fame
kind have taken care of the poor forlorn young ones, as if they
were their own ; a good leffon for us human creatures.

One of the broad-bil’d Wild Ducks is called Hun or
Quiin-Ainder, becaufe it whines or fqueaks in the air, when it
takes flight. The Drake is black and white, with a tuft and a
white ring about his eyes upon the black ; for which reafon they
are alfo called Ringoyer, and fhe 1s brown or greyifh; thefe live
moftly upon fnails, mulcles, and the like; thefe are not feen
longer than the Spring. Some are called Mort-Ainder or Fisk-
HEnder, becaufe they live by ducking for {mall fith. Their
fhape is like the former, excepting that the Drake is more
ftreaked on the back part of his neck ; and there is a feather
ftanding out about a finger’s length: they lay 12 or 18 eggs:
There are alfo fome called Krek-Ainder, becaufe they feek for a
fort of berries called Krekkeeber; or, according to the opinio :

fo)

‘NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 67

of others, becaufe they. are always making a noife, which founds
like the word Krek: they are fomething fmaller than the former ;
in colour brown, and they don’t go into falt water; there are alfo
others which are called Rod-Nakker, which differ only by a
reddifh colour round the neck. The fo called Stock-Ainder, and stock £nder.
by another name Hav-Ailler, the Duck, which, according to the
common opinion, grows on trees, are almoft like the Tame Ducks.
The Drake is dark grey, and white tufted, with a particular
feather on the back of his head, about fix inches in length, The
Duck is lighter, grey and white, witha ring round her neck, a
red bill, and longifh red legs, and lays annually 12 or 16 eggs:
the male and female fit alternately ; they hatch them in four
weeks. The third day after the fhell is quite opened, they are
taken by the old ones to the waters, and from that time the
Drake fhuns them as if they were ftrange ones. Thefe fort, or
the Wild Ainder, are found on the coaft in great quantities ;
and this circumftance, amongft others, has occafioned thofe
_ who have not been better informed of their breeding and origin,
to imagine that they grow on trees, and have their fource of Grow on
the conche anatifere, or Angle-Tasker, of which I have treated ***
in the former chapter, and have clafled them with the infeGs.
Should any, neverthelefs, be in doubt of this thing, it is to be
found, fully examined and determined, in Gafpari Schotti Phy-
fica Curiofa, Lib, ix. cap. xxii. p. 960, & fequ. where this learned
jefuit, in a full and particular differtation, divefts this fable of all
appearance of truth. I fhall only quote the conclufion, Pp: 976,
as follows: 3 sbi.
Ajo 1. Aves Britannicas non oriri ex arborum fru@ibus aut foliis,
aut ex lignis navium in mare decidentibus atque in fungos aut
conchulas degenerantibus, Fundamentum habeo, quod nec ratio,
nec experimentum, nec auctoritas id perfuadet. Concedo equidem
ex lignis putrefcentibus in mari nafci vermes, non circa Scotiam
tantum, fed alibi etiam: hanc enim unam ob caufam portus Mef.
fanenfis in Sicilia, qui omnium toto orbe pulcherrimus ac fecu-
riffimus alioquin foret, cedit aliis, quod naves diutius in eo heren-
tes a vermibus ibidem natis exedantur. Concedo etiam in con-
_chulis fupradi&is reperiri vermes aviformes, qui paulatim crefcant
& avolent, cum id tam multi & oculati teftes afferant. Nego
tamen aves Britannicas, de quibus hic fermo eft, inde habere ortum
funm ; quoniam nullus fupra citatorum Scriptorum id vidit, nec
ullius alterius oculati teftis atteftatio adeft, fed omnes meris con-
jecturis agunt, vulgi opinione adduGi, ut ex verbis ipforum con-
fiat. Nullum enim experimentum haenus docuit, animalcula
exigua

Berg Ugle.

Bogfincke,

Bruufhane,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA24Y.

exigua ex putrida materia generata, excréfcere in animalia tam
grandia ac ‘perfecta, qualia funt Britannica aves, de quibus
agitur. ©. ;

Ajo II. Aves Britannicas oriri ex ovis per incubatum, more
aliorum anferum. Probatur teftimonio Alberti Magni, Gerhardi
a Vera, & Batavorum, qui id oculis fuis viderunt, itemque aucto-
ritate alioram auctorum pracedenti §. 12. & 13. citatorum, qui
idem afferunt. Quibus accedit Ferdinandus a Corduba in Didat

cal. cap. 7. ubi ait: Multa talia pro veris vendi, vel illud argu-
mento efle, quod licet plurimi {cribant, aves Berneftas nomine in

Hebridibus infalis & Hybernia ex fru@tibus aut foliis arborum in
mare deciduis generari, nihilominus id figmentum effe ; cum Hol-
landi 1569, fcripto teftati fint, fe circa novam Zemblam in has
aviculas, ova fua foventes, incidiffe.

‘> Ajo TH. Perfuafionem vulgi & AuGorum contrarie fententie,
inde'ortam, quod annis fingulis innumerabilem pene multitudi-
nem ‘ejufmodi avium circa Britannicas infulas deprehenderint, nec
tamen iciverint ubi orirentur, aut unde venirent ; putaverintque
proinde, animalcula illa alata conchulis aut materiis putrefcen-
tibus'inclufa, excrefcere in anferes, ut optime notavit Clufius &

Denfin gius.

“ie cf ee SEC T..V. ;
The Berg Ugle, or the Ugle, with the Bafiar, Boefier, a
{mall Sea-bird, of the fame kind, and not larger than a Thrush,
but otherwife looking like the Alk, or Razor-bill, in colour,
legs, and bill, are common alfo here. They live upon {mall
herrings, and are never feen but in the midft of Winter, and a
few in the Spring, if there comes a ftorm of wefterly wind ; and
therefore its native place and manner of breeding is unknown
to me.

‘The Bogfincke, or Brambling, a well-known {mall Land Bird,
as very pretty, of a dark colour, variegated with red, white, and
grey {pots ; the bill is fhort and thick ; they are here but {carce to
be feen, of the Fincker, or Finch kind in general. Jacob Klein
reckons, in his lately publifhed Hiftor. Avium, p. 96, feventeen
forts, which differ in colour, and other refpects.

oO Brokfugl: ‘See Heilo. ;
‘'TheBruufhane, or Ruffe, 1s fomething lefs than a Pigeon 5 it
takes its ‘namé from loving always to buz, and with his bill he
fights with his own kind, and then raifes his long feathers round
his neck, that ‘they’ ftand like a ruff. The female of this kind 1s
called the Reeve. -
Biya Dom-

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

69

Dom-Herre, or Dom-Pap, the Coccothraus, perhaps fo called Dom-Herre.

in popifh times for their] melodious voice, refembling an organ,
though not loud enough to fill the choir of a cathedral, where
the canons fing their Hore. Some call them Coccothrauftes fa n-
guinea. Of the fame family there are many forts in other places,
which I do not know any thing of here. Its body is beautifully
variegated, red, black, and white on the wings ; and grey on the
back ; the hen is only of a blue-grey: the fcarceft are thof that
are green, with red tufts of feathers on the head.

The Droflel Turdus, the Thruth, which is called here Troft, Drotet, or

and by a common name, which comprehends many fpecies, Krams,
or Krametsfugl; the difference in the Norway Droflelaes, from
the Danifh, contifts, as far as I can find, only in this, that fome
are greyilh, with white feathers under the breaft, fome of a dark
brown, and fome quite black. Thefe are called Soelforter,
Some are dark grey, with a white ring round the neck. Thefe
are called Ringe Troft, the Ring Owzel. Jac. Klein, preferable
to other writers, has given himfelf a particular deal of trouble to
find out the chara¢teriftick marks of each kind of Bird in his
generation; and reckons, L. C. p,65,& {eq. not lefs than thirty-
fix diverfe forts of Thrufhes; yet Iam of opinion that one may
in this, as in other things, multiply {pecies without occafion,
and thereby confufe one’s ideas, inftead of clearing up or eftablith.
ing them; for between fome of thefe the difference is { {mall,
that I look upon it to be rather accidental than fpecifick. In the
Autumn here are a great many Kramsfugl, particularly when
there is a good feafon of berries, which, with other products of
forefts, are known to be their food.

_ The Due, or Pigeons, tame, and: feveral others, are frequent nue.

here, but Turtle-doves are not found with us. We have Wood
Pigeons, and particularly about the rocks, in confiderable num-
bers. Willughby fays, Ornitholog. Lib. ii. p- 136, that they
are fomething larger than common Pigeons, which they otherwife
are very like: in this country it is the contrary, for they are
rather lefs. On the iflands at the fea-fide in Ryefylke there are
found a fort of wild Pigeons, which are like the tame, excepting
that they are all of one colour, with blue fhining feathers on the
neck. They build their neft in the cracks of rocks, and are not
fo fhy as the Wood Pigeons, |

Parti. — T | SECT.

Krametsfugl,

79

Edderfugl.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

| SE CT. VL | :
The Wild Duck, called Edder, Adder, or contraGted by Atr-

fugl, and by Wormio, in Mufeo, p. 320, Anas plumis mollifli-

mis, is found here along the coaft, as well as in Iceland, Groen-
land, Faroe *, and elfewhere, in great quantities. T'he feathers
of its breaft, which are known far and near by the name of Eider-
Dun,, make annually a good livelihood to people in many places.
I think this Bird deferves an exa@t defcription, efpecially as they
are not known any where elfe than in the North Sea, |

In fhape and fize it keeps a medium betwixt the Goofe and

the Duck, fo that one may, with equal reafon, call it a fmall

Wild Goofe, or a large Wild Duck. The Cock on the upper
part is black, mix’d with dark green, which, about the neck, is
fomething lighter ; under the eyes white, mix’d with light green ;
the breaft is black; under the belly and wings it is of a light
grey , on the tail, which is but {mall, it is of a dark green and
thining hue. On Faroe, according to L. Debes, the cocks are fome-
times white, and, when they are young, are like the hens, which
are fomewhat lefs than their mates, and are afterwards all over
brown and grey mixt. ‘The bill and feet are of the Goofe kind,
but of a dufky yellowifh. colour, and in the hens fomething
darker. They dive under water like Ducks, but much deeper:

they will go to ten or twelve fathom deep, and they live, like

other Sea-Birds, upon fifh, fhells, and fea-weeds. In the Winter
they are almoft always on the ocean, and they feek the coaft in
the Spring in large numbers, to make their nefts in the cliffs,
and on fmall iflands, either among ftones, or among the tufts of

bufhes, and large fea-plants. They lay five, or, at moft, fix

eggs, of a green colour, and as large as a Goofe-ege, in fhape.

fomewhat longifh +.
. | If

* This agrees with what Buchanan writes, de Rebus Scoticis, Lib. 1. of the Scotch
Bird he calls Calca; of which alfo Robert. Sibald. in Hitt. Animal. Scot. Lib. ii.
p. 21. relates the fame of this Bird and its feathers. It is not feen before the Spring,
and it is thought that this Bird, along with a great many other Sea-fowls, go to other
places in the Winter: but whether they go, according to the opinion of fome, to
America, I will not determine. Whilft I am writing of this, a correfpondent of
mine at Sundmeer acquaints me, that they have been neverthelefs feen there in Winter
on the out-iflands, in the ocean, living upon what they find among the fand, that the.
waves throw up from the bottom. Concerning their place of retreat, I can find no.
account to be depended upon.

+ Mr. Anderfon fays, in his Defcription of Iceland, p. m. 44. that they have told
him that thefe Birds lay a vaft many eggs. If a ftick of half an ell’s length be put
in the middle of the neft, which fometimes is done, (becaufe the eggs are much
efteemed) the female ftill continues laying her eggs more than her cuftom, and does
not leave off till the top of the ftick is covered, that fhe may lay upon them;

; i : | whereby

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. mt

_ If the firft five eggs are ftole away, then the Bird lays again
but-only three, and in another neft; if thefe are loft, then fhe
lays one more. Four weeks the mother fits alone on the eggs,
and the cock ftands watching underneath in the water ; fo that if
any human creature or beaft of prey approaches, he gives her
notice, by crying hu hu, and then fhe covers her eggs with mofs
and down, which fhe keeps ready prepared, and comes down to
her mate on the water ; but he does not receive her very kindly 5 Severe mate,
and if her eggs are loft by any accident, he gives her many blows
with his wings, which fhe muft take patiently; and after this
he entirely deferts her, and fhe is obliged to join the flock of her
kind, under the fame difgrace. A few days after the young ones
are hatch’d they are taken by the mother to the fea, and are not
forfaken even in the greateft diftrefs: fhe has been feen, fh time
of danger, to take her young ones on her back, to fwim the better
away, when they could not come after her. One of my corre-
{pondents has feen, that as the Ravens and Crows hunt out for - -
- thefe Birds nefts, to fuck out their eggs, or eat the young ones,
it has made them fometimes build half a mile farther up in the
country, that they might find a better hiding-place for their neft ;
and then, when the young ones are to go to the fea with their
mother, fhe lays herfelf down, for them to climb on her back,
and carries them away by an even flight.

Tho’ it be not fuffered to deftroy thefe Birds, on account of
their fine down, but only to gather it off from the neft, yet they Eader-down,
are too often killed by the inconfiderate; but the feathers and
down which is plucked off the dead Birds are not near fo good as
that fhe pulls off herfelf from her breaft. This fhe does the laft
eight days fhe fits, to make the young ones a foft and warm bed.
The dead Birds down is greafy, and fubje& to decay, and is not
near fo light as the down of the neft, when it is Cleanfed from
the ftalks of herbs, and other mixtures. It is fold, when pure,
for two rixdollars per pound, and is a good livelihood to many of
the people who live about the coafts; for it is fo light, warm,
foft, and ready to fpread itfelf, that two handfuls {queezed to-
gether is enough to fill a down guilt *, | )

That this Edder-down is unwholfome, and particularly, that
it gives the epileptic ficknefs, is contradiG@ed by Th. Bartholin.
in Medicina Danor. domettica, p- 65: Neque vanus nonnullorum

whereby fhe becomes quite faint and low. This account feems not right, according
to a experience, on this coaft, where they generally find but five, feldom the fixth,
in the neft.

* A covering like a feather-bed, which they ufe in that country inftead of quilts and
blankets.

rumor

74

Egde.

Elve-Konge.

Erle.

Falk,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVA4Y

rumor nos terrere debet, epilepticos infultus ex ufu harum plu-
marum timentium, quod periculum necdum ullus, qued feiam,
incurrit. ‘The Edder’s, as well as many other Strand Birds eggs,
are brought in here to market, by thofe farmers that live near
Bergen ; and they are faid to be very good and well-tafted: but
on the contrary, the fleth taftes fithy ; fo that none of thefe Birds
are eat, except by the poor, that facrifice tafte to neceffity ; yet
one may mend the tafte in fome meafure, if they are parboiled
in vinegar, or foaked in vinegar before they are roafted.

The Egde, Nightingale, is a fmall Land Bird, fomething like
a Lark : it is peculiar in this ; that in Sommer it fings all night
long without intermiffion. |

The Elve-Konge, or Owzel, is fo called, becaufe it always
haunts rivers, pleafing itfelf with fluttering over running water,
and jumping from one ftone to another : it’s make is fomething
like a Thrufh, black, and with a white ring round his neck.

The Erle, or Ring Erle, is fomething like the former, but of |
a blue grey on the back, a black head, and a little white on the
fides ; the hen is more grey: it is only feen in the Summer, and
is faid to lie in a ftate of infenfibility all the Winter.

SECT. VI. ’

The Falk, or Falcon, which J. Klein, p. 47, diftinguifhes into
27 different forts, are found the fartheft north, of the beft and
moft ufeful kinds for hawking: I have nothing to do with thofe
which are annually exported from Iceland, and not without a
confiderable charge ; and then are fent far about to foreign
courts. I fhall only obferve, that here in Norway, particularly
in Ofterdalen ; and alfo in the diocefe of Chriftianfand, and par-
ticularly at Jedderen, there is found extraordinary good Falcons
for the fport ; they are grey and white, and are of feveral kinds,

large and fmall: to catch them we generally ufed to have people

come fron: Germany and the Netherlands annually. Thefe expert
Falconers feparate themfelves about the rocks, and generally flay
about a month, or fomething longer, that they may each of them
get a booty. They catch but few, from which we may judge
of their value, which will anfwer fo long a journey *. They catch
them in nets, under which they put a pigeon for a‘bait. Here by
the fea fide, particularly at Sundmoer, are feen what we call
Fifhing-Falcons: they have their principal living on the water,

* This Falcon-catching is farmed to the Brabant people, by a certain family to
whom his majefty has granted it. ) |

but

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUY. 3
but deftroy alfo on the rocks many of the Birds that build

there... ' ;
The Fier-Kurv, or Fiere-Muus, called alfo Strand-Sneppe, and Fier-Kuvv.
Strand-firle, is a fmall moufe-grey Bird, living about the coafts,
as bigas a {mall Thrufh, with a long bill and legs; it builds its
neft in the cracks of the rocks along the coaft, and lays feven or
eight grey fpotted eggs; it liveson worms and weeds. Some-
times thefe fy in fuch great flocks, that one may kill at one
fhoot 40 or 50. On the water they'll fit fo fecure, that one may
row within a fathom of them: their fleth is not defpicable in
tafte. | |
The Flagger-Muus or Aftenbalke, the Batt, which is called here Ploager:
Skindvenge, is very common ; it is put by fome among Quadru- *
pedes, inftead of Birds. |
Flag-Sperte. See Sperte. ) |
| The Foffefald, or Water-Wagtail, is a little black and white Foster.
Bird, that feeks his habitation near cataraéts, or water-falls,
which they do not leave even in the Winter. J. Ramus gives an
account, p. 246, that they burn and powder thefe Birds for a
remedy for horfes in many diforders. i. Be
The Fugle-Konge, Regulus, or Wren, is the fmalleft Bird that rustle Konge
we know of in this country: “tis brown and yellowith under the
belly ; the feathers look as if they were wool, or as if it was
covered with eloth : it lives chiefly about {tone walls *, and in
barns. Of this Bird ’tis faid, that it feats itfelf on the back of the
Eagle, and fo flies up with him fo high as it otherwife could
not poflibly foar. From thence, perhaps, he has the odd name
of King of the Birds; for.he feems to difpute the title with
the Eagle himfelf, who is properly the king of Birds. Our
farmers call the Wren Peter Nonfmad, that is, after dinner meat ;
becaufe he is feldom feen in the forenoon. | ee
The Gaas, or Goofe. The Tame are common here as in othet Geet.
places. Of Wild Geefe we have two forts, particularly in Summer
time, by the fea fide. The firft, from their colour, are called
Graa-Gies, Grey Goofe ; alfo ‘Frappe-Gizs, and of fomeé alfo Graa.Gies.
Rad-Gizs, becaufe they hold a wonderful kind of counfel in
their “flight; of which hereafter. They are only in the Sommer
in Nordland, the furthermoft part of Tronheim’s dio¢efe; and
are fesn to fly by here, towards the north, about Whitfuntide :
when they are weary in their journey, and light upon the cliffs to

_ * Thefe fort of walls are ufed inftead of hedges, and are large pebbles, and other
ftones, laid loofe one a-top of the other,

_, Parr II. U | | reft,

74

Strange flight.

Fager-Gaas.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

reft, fome may be fhot ; fome alfo, by fogs or bad weather, are
bewildered ; and others from faintnefs, or fome other accident,
are left behind till Winter*, when the flocks return from
Nordland to France, where fome people are of opinion that
they winter; tho’ I won’t alledge it for a certainty: for as to
thefe fort of Birds of paflage, their breeding and other circum-
{lances are not rightly known to us in thefe parts.
Thofe that are catched and fhot here are fat and well-tafted: the
moft remarkable thing with refped to thefe Graa-Gizs is the regula-
rity and order they keep in their annual flights and peregrinations
both hither and back again. This has been confirmed by many
witnefles. -Each flock confifts of 30, 40, or more; and they
fly partly in two lines; and toward the hindermoft end they
ftand pretty far from one another, but the foremoft go clofe
together, and form a pyramid; fo that they cut the air to make
it eafy for the reft: but as the foremoft are fooneft tired, it is
obferved, from time to time, that the three foremoft at the
point retire behind, and other three come forwards; and fo they
continue to cut the air, taking turns for the foremoft place; and
thus alternately, a whole or half a day, they go on in regular
order, and without turning out of their dire line, unlefs when
one grows tired, and then, perhaps, it muft flay behind. This
is certainly a fingular thing in natural hiftory, and may give man-
kind a good lefion how to help one another in fociety. Some-
thing of this kind is affirmed concerning the Deer, when they
in droves pafs a river. ec
_ Another- fort which ftay longer with us, is what we call the
Fager-Gies; they are a clean and pretty Goofe; they have a
white ring round their.neck: they are called alfo Urgiss,
becaufe they live in Urer, or heaps of ftones, under the rocks along
the fhore. They are bigger than a Duck, but lefs than a Goofe :
the general colour is a mixture of white, blue, brown and.
black; they are greenifh on the head, and the bill and feet
are red ; the fleth is not fo good as that of the former: we know
not where they fpend their Winter ; they come here in the
beginning of April, and are not {een after Michaelmas-day.
When the eggs are taken or deftroyed, the cock beats the
hen with his wings, and makes her cry difmally. In the fub-
terranean holes, where they lay their eggs, there is two openings ;

* A friend gives me an account, that the Graa-Gaafer breeds alfo on the iflands
near the ocean in Rycfylke, tho’ not in any great number. In Jedderen is a water
‘where thofe Geefe which lofe their feathers, or that could not follow the flock, ftay
all the Summer, and with a little trouble may be catched in great quantities.

fo

NAT URAL HIST ORY of NORWAY.

fo that if the.one-hole’is not flopped up,. it.is in vain to look for

7

the Bird at the other.

.» The Goofe in this kind..is vifibly lefs than the Gander, and has

‘got the ring about her neck, which makes the Gander moft
fightly. — |

red on the neck, ‘near the head. |. It lives in wood, and is called “®"

by fome Ulykkes-Bird, becaufe it is commonly looked upon as

ominous, and of bad foreboding. In thefe things the commona-

lity in former times had. great belief. My |

_, The Glente, or Kite, ,is a known Bird of prey, which partie clente.

cularly keeps to houfes. and yards; and kills the Chickens.

The Goul, or Gagl, isa middle kind of Bird, belonging to Gu.
the water: it is fomething like a large Wild Duck, but much
fatter and delicater in flefh, and is. beft. roafted.. In June they
come in flocks, like the Wild Geefe, along the country going
north ; they are eafily fhot, becaufe they do not turn, but keep
a dire& line, and fly low, not much above the water. In Snorro
Sturlefen, p. 229, it is faid, A Gagl for a Gaas is but bad pay-
ment.

The Gog, otherwife, for his noife, called the Hukkuk, the cog:
Cuckow, is fhaped nearly like a Hawk ; it is fomething lefs, and
of a blue-grey. It is faid'that they are lazy, and muft have a
{mall Bird always in company with them, that brings them their
victuals: it. is pretended by fome, that. the Cuckow the following
year becomes a Kite, juft, mentioned, and falls firft. of all upon
his benefactor ; and from thence it is called the ungrateful Cuckow*.
They are not feen farther north than Saltens Fogderie.

J goRlic Th TX

75

The Giertrudsfugl,.or Gertrades-Bird, is black, with fome cietmis-

~ The Hav-Aare, is fhaped like a Duck, but is fomething larger, tay-Aare.

and the bill is fhorter ; it is quite black, excepting fome white
feathers at the end of the wings, which look pretty. ‘They dive
deep for their food, and they are difficult to {hoot at. They lay
ten or twelve eggs, and take turns with their mates to fit on
them. "a ee eee
_ The Hay-Heift, is a Sea-Bird, not larger than a Moor-hen:
is fhort. and thick, with fmall wings, and feet likea Goofe; a .
{mall bill, and high cheft, of a grey colour... They fnort like a

* Againft this common ill report, which particularly Plinius, Lib. x. cap. 9. fol.
m. 80, -has brought upon the Cuckow: it is cleared by Jo. Heinr. Zorn, in his Petino-

Theologie, P. ii. c. 13. §. 13. p- 716. who fays, the poor Bird is done injuftice :
who has feen it? Nay, he is an unarmed Bird, and has neither claws nor bill to do it

with.
horfe

iy Hav-He&.

Hay-Sule.

“NATURAL HISTORY of WOR WA a

horfe when he‘ fetches breaths from: whence the Bird has the

name; as well as that its motion on the “water refemblés the
trotting of that animal, with heaving, ‘and violent ‘pufhing 3 fo
that. when they appear in large flocks, they make the fea roax
even in {till weather. On land no body has ever feen them, and
they do not. come nearer than ‘half a {core + miles} fo that they

~ are only feen by the fithermen that go out to fith for turbut on

the main ; though in fhallow water thefe Birds come about the
boats in elufters, to get the intrails that are thrown over. If
they ftrike at any of them with'a ftick or a itone, that they fall

- er are ftunn’d, then the others gather about the Bird that is hurt,

and never leave off pecking him’ tilk he revives’: but that he
fhould revive, as pretended, though quite mangled, is a mere
fitherman’s fable. | . qulttt y= ierae,

[have never found fo much 4s one “of this Hav-Heft among
other Birds, in any other: writers ; and’ therefore’ the ‘drawing
fent me by Mr! Hans Strom, chaplain to the parith of Borgéns
on Sundmoer, is certainly the more worthy to be introduced :
but I have this to ebferve on the occafion, that the thick and
round head in the drawing is too much like an Owl, and thould;

by a more exa& drawing, rather approach the’ likenefs of a

cuckow’s head, but broader. — | | niger
The Hav-Sule, a large Sea-bird, which fomewhat refembles 4

_ Goofe: the head and neck are rather like thofe of a Stork, ex-

cepting that the bill is fhorter and thicker, and is yellowith ; the
legs'are long ; a-crofs the back’ and wings the colour is a light
blue ; the breaft and long neck are white ; towards the head it ‘is
green, mix'd with black, and on the top there is a red comb:
the tail and wings are both, diftinguifhed by fome white feathers
at the ends, and are large in proportion to the body: when the

wings axe fpread from the end of one ‘to the other they meafure

fix feet. This Bird is eatable either roafted or falted : the Scots
call it Gentelman. It isa Bird of paflage, or, of the wandering
unfettled fort. Tt is not feen in this country before the latter end
of January, or beginning of February, when‘the herring-fifhing
begins, and. then it ferves for a fign to give notice of the feafon.
They do not come nearer land than within half a mile; thus
the farmer obferves when the fifh feek the narrow and fhallow
waters. At Eafter thefe Birds are not feen any more, therefore
{cannot fay .much about. their breeding. » They are. fo ftupid,
that by laying a few herrings upon a floating board, they may
be inticed to the boat, and killed with the oar. 4

+ Sixty Enelifth Miles. .

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

The Heire, the Heron, Herodias, Ardea vel Ardua, quod. alte-Heire:

volet, becanfe- it flies. high, fays J: Klein, Hift. Av. ps wade
where he diftinguithes:them into fourteen forts, We ‘hall only
take notice of the Norvegian Heron : it is the large blue Heron,
a confiderable- Bird, whofe body is like an Eagle’s, the neck, bill,
and legs like thofe of a Stork, excepting that the feet refemble
thofe of a Goofe, andon their heads they havea tuft of feathers:
they lay three grey fpotted exes, of the fize of a Goole-egs, and
fhape of a Moor-hen’s: they build their neft in the higheft trees,
or in the cracks of the- fteepeft rocks: the male-and female change
turns to fit upon the egos, which are hatched in three weeks :
they do the fame in bringing up the young, in three more; and
then they can feed‘themfelves. They do not only feek their food
in frefh water lakes and marfhes, but alfo alone the fea-coaft,
where, with their long legs, neck, and bill, they fhew the fame
readinefs as the Stork, tocatch all crawling and: water infe@s, that
are not larger than what they ean fwallow down. their narrow
throats. ‘Phe Heron has only one ftrait gut, which diftinguifhes
it from other Birds. Aydea id habet ab omnibus avibus diverfum,
quod inteftinum cxcum unicum & fimplex obtineant fingule, cum
ali aves geminum nadte fint, according to J. Klein, L. C, Hence
if comes to pafs, that all my correfpondents unanimonfly affure
me that a Heron may eat a Snake or an Eel three times over,
which is hardly fwallowed before one fees the head or body
pafs out again from the Bird’s fundament, and then immediately
the Bird turns about, and fwallows it a fecond ora third time,
before he will relinquith it. Its long legs are a great help to it
to get its provifions: on thefe legs are a very few fine hairs,
which play foftly in the water ; and that motion, it is faid, entices
the fifh, who are not aware of the devouring beak above.

The Heiloe, called alfo Myreloe, becaufe they live chiefly in Heitoe.

ant-hills, or in broom-fields, differs from the Akerloe (which, on
the contrary, feeks the plough’d land) chiefly in fize, which is
vifibly fuperior ; on the back it is green, and it is variegated
under the breaft with black and white {pots : its flefh is delicate;
much like the Thruth kind : they are Birds of paflage, and
towards the Winter they affemble together in large flocks, and
fo fly away. Some are of opinion that they ftay here all the year,
hiding themfelves in the high rocks; but this is uncertain.

77

The Horfe-Gog, or Rofgauke, fo called perhaps becaufe they Horle-gog.

five in cracks of rocks, or among great heaps of ftones, from
whence the ermin animal has the Norvegian name. The Horfe-
Gogen is about as large as a Wood-Pigeon ; its note is not at

Part. II, x all

78

Hoeg.

Hons.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

all like the other Gogs, or Cuckows, but refembles the bleating
of a Goat, and is therefore by fome called Jord-Geed, or Ground
Goat: it is moft heard in the night. Some. call it alfo the Fog-
Bird, becaufe it is oftneft feen in mifly weather.

‘The Hoeg, or Hawk, a well-known and hurtful Bird af prey :
there are three forts a them in this country 5 the largeft is the
Gof-Hawk, which is ftrip’d;with green, and feems nearly related
to the Balden's this lives upon Growfe, Chickens, and. Pigeons.
Tt will not meddle with. a dead carcafe; as if it were of a more
noble kind than, other. Birds .of prey... They, often. keep about
the frefth water, and watch to catch the fifh that come within
their reach. spider fort, are lefs and of a brown colour, called
Spurre-Hoge, becaufe they do ‘not carry away any thing but {mall
Birds; and there is ftilla leffer fort of the fame colour, called Mufe-
Hose; becaufe they,| like. the,Qwl, devour the ground. or
wood-mice. They hover jin the ‘air till. the ‘moufe comes in their
way; and then drop down at once. upon it.

The Hons :'the cocks and hens. in’ general of this a which
is one of the moft extenfive among the Bird kind, are found
here of every fort as.in Denmark. or Germany, the. Pancock! not

excepted. Pheafants are the only kind which I do not remem-

ber to have feen here, though I don’t doubt but that they might
be bred in Norway, as well as in other places, with porneiae
regulations Ei

That the great India Hons; ‘the Turkey kind, Rae call’ d
Kalkuinske, but more. properly Calecutiske Hons, fhould thrive
here as well as in warmer countries, one would not believe, if
experience did not convince us; yet it, is ie that they do not
we quite fo large as in other. places, . | we
7 OF Agger- -Hons [I have. already treated.

* His Fae liane Count Rantzau, our former Stadtholder, in» hae time eae Phea-
fants ; but with what fuccefs, or whether they left behind them any young, I have

not learnt. *

CHA P.-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

er ope py
CONTINUATION off BIRD 0

SecT. I. Of the Francolin, the Lumme, and others. Sect. I. Of the Black-
_ cap, the Larke, the Lumme, the Pope, and others... Secr. Il. Of Gulls of
_ feveral kinds; of the Eagle, and. many others. Sect. 1V.. Of the Raven,
_ Cormorant, and others. Sect..V. Of the Lapwing, the Magpye, and
others. Sect. VI. Of the Starling, the Stork and others. Sect. VII. Of
the Cock of the Wood, and others. Sncr. VIII. Of the Quail, the Owl, and

others. .

SB Gorey ere

FERPE, or, as fome exprefs it, Hierpe, the Francolin, is Jerpe.

J an excellent Land-Bird: it ferves the Norvegians inftead of

Pheafant and Moor-game ; and is called by fome the Norvegian
Ager-Hone, and differs very little from the Bird of that name
in Denmark, but it is fomething lefs, and almoft like a Pigeon or
Partridge ; but in feathers and colour it is more like the Wood-
gam ; it is variegated in {tripes. For its white, found and tender
flefh, and its‘delicious tafte, I prefer it to all kind of Fowl I know
of.. The fowler entices it to him by blowing in a pipe, that founds
like the voice of its mate, In the diocefe of Aggerfhuus and Tron-
hiem, where they are in great numbers, they don’t prefer any
thing. to the Jerpe roafted. On Kolens mountains they are in
abundance ; and, according to Schefferi’s account, in fuch vaft
numbers as cannot be counted. Willughby, who is not in the
wrong by counting them a fpecies of Ager-Hons, fays, that the
Italians, who have them from the Sicilian and other high moun-
tains, call them Francolini, quafi Franci, i. e. Liberi feu immunes ;
becaufe they know thefe Birds area fort of prohibited game, being
referved for the nobility only.. And again it ftands in the fame
clafs, namely Ornithologie, Lib. IL. §. ii. p. 125. Hac avis
vel eadem eft noftra’ Lagopodi alteri, Regdame dict, vel ei

aflinis. Differt faltem, quod caput habeat criftatum. Belloni
autem Attagen crifta deftituta eft. Ego fane eandem crederem,

nifi locus obftaret. Noftra enim juga montium altiffimorum
feptentrionalium incolit, cum Aldrovandi Attagen in Siciliz
| Regionis

79

86

Tinber.

NATURAL ASTOR Y of MORPAYK

Regionis calidze montibus fatis abunde reperiatur. Verum nullus
dubito, quin avis illa, quam Bellonius & Scaliger hoc nomine
intelligunt, in Alpibus qui pe Pyrenzais & Anvernienfibus mon-~
tibus degens, quamque Bellonius ad plana defcendere negat, lago-
podi noftrae omnino eadem fit. Et forte etiam Aldrovandi non
diverfa fuerit, cum-utrique tum Bellonianz avi,. tum Aldrovan-
dinz Francoloni nomen commune fit, & Aldrovandi attagenem
{uam monticolam efle {cribit. Nec refert, quod Sicilia, ubi inve-
nitur, regio calida fit, montes.enim. Siciliz, preefertim Etna adeo
frigidus'eft, ut per maximam aftatis parteny nivibus fit opertus,

‘&e. Caro hujus' avis laudatiffima eft, facilis concofionis, nutri-

menti multi & optimi, unde & primum dignitatis gradum. apud
veteres obtinuit.. | |

_ The Imber, Imbrim, Ember, or the great Northern - Diver,
is a pretty large Sea-Bird, a little bigger than a Goofe: it has
a long Neck, the upper part black, as well as the bill and feet ;
but from the breaft downwards ’tis white : there are alfo fome
white feathers at the extremity of the wings and tail. The
wings are fo fhort, that they can hardly raife themfelves with

ii them; and the legs ftand fo far backwards, that they are. not.fo

fit to walk with, as to paddle themfelves along the water.
Hence arifes that ftrange account in which every body agrees, that
the Immeren is never feen to come afhore, excepting in the week
before Chriftmas ; from whence the fourth Sunday in Advent is
called by the people in general Immer, or, according to their way
of expréffing, Ommer-Sondag. Onenquiry, how they find place
and opportunity fo hatch their young, I have been informed they
lay but two eggs, which is very likely; for one never fees more
than two young ones with them. Under their wings in their body
there aré two pretty deep holes, big enough to put one’s fift in: in
each of thefe they hide an egg, and hatch the young ones there,
as perfect, and with lefs trouble, than others do on fhore. Relata
refero, fed conftanter & a plurimis relata. Hr. Lucas Debes, whom
I confider as a pretty cautious writer, does not look upon this
to be improbable, where he, in his Defcription of Faroernes, p,
128, & fequ. treats of that Bird. He obferves that the Immeren,
accotding, to the opinion of fome, is not the Isfuglen or Halcedo,
which Franzius, in his Hiftor. animalium facra, defcribes to.be
of quite a different form, and indeed a little Bird. It is faid
the young ones are eafily enticed afhore, and killed; but the old
otiés, which aré moft valued on account of their fine feathers and
down, know very well how to guard themfelves againft Ste

r

NATURAL HISTORY off VORWAY. Sr

for they duck quick under water, and then come up again in a
moment. Several fhot may be difcharged to the place where
they are expected to appear, but feldom with fuccefs. Thofe
that will kill them muft aim at their hinder parts, that the thot
may go in under the feathers; for they grow fo thick, and are
fo very foft, that the fhot is damped, and lofes its force, if
they are fhot in the fore-parts *. As far as I yet have found, this
wonderful Bird feems to be quite unknown in foreign parts; for
neither Aldrovandus Gefnerus, Willughbeius, Zornius, or Klein,
fay any thing of it: they are likewife unknown to many of our
Norvegian writers. |

Jo-Fugl, Jo-Tyv, or Jo-Thief, becaufe he robs other Birds, The Te Fuet
is called alfo Kive. It is in fhape like a Strand-Maage, tho’ of a
darker colour ; and is an enemy to thofe Birds, tho’ not a very
dangerous one, as may be concluded ; for he only {trives, in his
purfuit after them, to get their prey from them, which he is too
lazy to catch for himfelf ; or if he can’t get that, he’ll take the
other Birds dung, from whence the Dutch call him Strunt-Jager,
As foon as the other drops it, tis inftantly catched up by the Jo-
-Fuglen, and with that he is fatisfied without any further demand :
this I am affured of by many that have obferved it... The Jo-
Fuglen appears in Norway early in the Spring, and is not feen
after Autumn. Its eggs are like the Maagen’s, but fomething
darker. See Frid. Martens Spitzbergenske Travels, c. ii. p. 63.

_ The Irisk is a pretty little finging Bird, very well known: ’tis ti.
found in Oplandet, but not the right genuine fort, as has been
obferved by the beft judges. Near Bergen there is a fort of
Bird called Knotter, which is different from the Irisk only in the

note ; in other re{pects they are quite alike.

SECT. IL

The Kizld is a Land-Bird, tho’ of that fort that lives always Rizld,
about the fea coaft, and it never goes on the! water but to fave
itfelf by ducking a little while under water. It is in fize and
fhape much like a Pigeon, with a long narrow red bill, and red

_* Being thus fhot-proof, perhaps is the origin of this Bird’s Iceland name, which is
Himbryne, as if armed with a heavenly coat of mail: otherwife there is afcribed.
another origin to the name, tho’ not fo juft, when it is faid in Mufeo Wormiano, p.
303. Mergus maximus Farrenfis, F erroenfibus Helbrimer, Ifandis Himbryne,. quafi
lorica coelefti induta. Ejus etymologiz rationes ita reddidit D. Stephanus Olavius :
‘Himin ccelum loricam vero Brynia fienificat, juxta illud poete: Brynia gefur ey fei-
gufior. i. e. Lorica non dat morti vicinis vitam. Ratio nominis a colore, ut exiftimo,
petita eft. - - - Voluerunt Iflandi hac nominis impofitione fignificare, aves hafce
pulcherrima colorum varietate & diftinétione, ufque adeo ornatas effe, ut dici poffint —
ceeleftem quandam lericam induiffe. | i

‘Parr II. Y legs: |

Kiod-Meife.

Krage.

Krykkie.

Langivie.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

legs: his upper part is black, and he is white under the belly and
wings. The male and female take their turns to hatch their
young, which is done in 14 days, on the bare cliff; the eggs are
ftreaked ; they live on fhell-fifh and fea-weeds; they come in
the Spring, and are not feen after Michaelmas-day. The farmers
fay they fly over to Scotland. | |
_ The Kiod-Meife, or Mafvit, the Black-cap, called by fome
Tallow-Ox, is one of the fmalleft Land-Birds ; ’tis almoft like
the Wren ; the body is black and yellow, and ’tis white under
the belly, with a black cap on his head. They keep to the houfes,
but ‘are hated and perfecuted ; for, according to his name, he is
fuch a lover of meat, that he watches every opening or hole to
get into the farmer's pantry, and falls upon the meat, and
will eat his way into it like a moufe: even when the meat
hangs up to be fmoaked, they can hardly preferve it from -
thefe Birds; they are catched like mice, in a trap. pate

The Krage, Kraako, a well-known black and grey Bird of
prey: it lives upon carrion, and fuch other foul food. It is faid
to warn other Birds of their purfuers; for it fmells gunpowder
at a diftance, and follows the bird-fhooters with its fhrieks,
and often fruftrates their hopes. The fox is their moft dangerous
enemy, for he fteals upon them when they are afleep on the
ground. ‘

On the fea coaft thefe Kragers live upon fmall fith and worms,
common along the fhore, and particularly on mufcles; but they
can’t open the fhells, otherwife than by flying high with them,
and dropping them on a rock to break them in pieces. —

The Krams-fugl. See Droffel. :

The Krykkie, is a Sea-bird, much like 2 Maage, with a yellow
crooked bill, and {mall red feet ; under the belly it is white, and
above it is grey, with a brown ftreak along the back: it comes
with the Summer, and takes its leave in Autumn. |

The Langivie, Lomgivie, ot Lomvifie; for the name of thefe
and other Birds differ greatly, according to places, and their dia-
le&. Thefe; which are of the Goofe kind, have black running
a-crofs the back and wings, but they are white under the belly:
they are called otherwife, by way of excellence, Stor-fugien, be-

cafe they are among tft the largeft of the kind of the Sea-birds,

-fleep precipices after them. Willughbeius fays, L. iti, p. 244,

and fly high, to lay their eggs on thofe rocks by the fide of the
ocean in Nordland, particularly at Trenen°and Veroe, where
they afford a comfortable maintenance to the inhabitants, though
got with a great deal of trouble and danger, by climbing thofe

that

NATURALHISTORY of VORVAY.
that'they are companions of the Owks and others, but are fimpler,

and eafier catch’d. The hen lays but one egg at a tune, fhe

hatches it in four weeks, and in all that time does not ftir from
it: fhe is fed by the cock till the young one 1s three weeks old,
and. then the mother takes it with her to the ocean on her back.
Of thefe kind are frequently found feveral hundreds in a place,
lying fo clofe together, that the rock is covered with them. When
the mother feeds her young, then they fit up backwards, and
fhe ftretches her neck under her wing, to reach the young one’s
bill. If it isthe firft time that the fowler comes to the place,
fo that the Birds do not know his intentions by experience, then
they'll fit and fuffer themfelves to be killed; but if they fly
away, and come:again, then each young one knows how to find
its mother’s wing, ‘as each bee does its cell, though there is no
difference in their make.

~The Lax-Tite, is a Water-bird, in appearance like a Skade, pax-vite.

but with long red legs, and a‘red bill. This has its name from
this fingular circumftance, that it. particularly in. the Spring,
when the Salmon comes up the rivers, follows that fifh, and feems
pleafed in its company, hovering on the water where it paffes: it
is a kind of a fignal to the fifhermen. |

The Lerke, the Lark: of this bird we have here two forts, Lerke.

one called the Singing Lark, which we find only in Summer:
this is of a brown colour, and builds in heath, and among {mall
bufhes, but is hard to be found. The other is the Korn Lerke:
this is fomething larger, and it is feen ofteneft in the Winter ; yet

both forts are feen fometimes in large flat countries, and alfo on _

fome of the iflands.

The Lom, Liom, Lum, the Northern Diver, which Ol. Wor- tom.
mius, in Mufeo, p. 304, calls Colymbum Aréticum, isa Water- _

bird, not quite fo large as the before defcribed Immer, or Ember,
_ but otherwife like it; but yet more like the Razor-bill (which
has been before defcribed) excepting that the neck is thicker, and
the bill is fharper. Its bignefs may be known from this, that they
fometimes weigh two pounds. They are all over of a moufe-grey,
and fomewhat lighter under the breaft: tho’ their wings are but
~ dmall, yet they fly pretty well; but they walk extremely flow,
and with difficulty *, becaufe their legs ftand fo far backwards,
under their tail, as they do on the Immeren and Razor-bill ;

* From this Bird’s bad gait Schefferus derives his name, in his Lappon, c: 30, where
Lomme, or Lumme, he fays, is the fame as Lame, Halting, or Limping, claudicare ;
but that I will not determine. In the fame place he talks of Wormii Mergis, or
Halv-Ainder, whofe pointed bill alone diftinguifhes it and many others from the

common, clafie. |
. therefore

33

84

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

therefore it builds its neft in the rufhes, or on the fides of frefi
water lakes; but fo clofe to the water, that the dams can roll
themfelves down into their proper element from the neft, without
the help of their legs. Though they live by frefh waters, fill
they fly to the fea alfo, to feek for food. There, as well as in
the former place, they live upon all kind of {mall fith, worms,
and infects, which they feek for by ducking twelve or fixteen
fathom deep in the water. The hen lays two dark brown eggs,
and fits alternately with her mate to hatch them. This is done
in four weeks, and if the water rifes fo high that it gets into the
neft, one or other fHill continues fitting on them. When this _
Bird is in a fportive humour it makes a frightful ugly noife, juft
like the cries of a human creature in imminent danger, and calling
for relief. It makes another very different noife, which is a fional
to the farmers for fine weather, after a great deal of wet and
ftormy feafons: at thefe times they are feen to fly up pretty high
over their neft. ‘The Lumme’s fkin is drawn off with down and
all, and is ufed to line caps with, and is reckoned better than
{wan-fkins: After this was wrote, there was publifhed a Work,
call?’d Olai Wormii Epiftole ; in the fecond part of which there is
found, fub N°. DCCCCLIX. p. 1021. a letter to him from Ab-
folon Chriftophorus, treating particularly of this Norvegian Bird ;
from which I fhall quote the moft important part of what is faid
thereon, to illuftrate.and confirm further what has been delivered
here. Confultis itaque Iflandis interpretibus, geminas vocis Loom
fignificationes, alta jam/a multis annis oblivione in Norvegia ob-

rutas ac fepultas didici. Aiunt enim voce hac & anxiam cujufque

rei curam, & fummam infuper calliditatem denotari. Quod
utrumque nomen huic avi peperifle tanto certe crediderim faci-
lius, quanto plura & majora utriufque nobis preebeat argumenta.’
Hujus quidem, dum pedum ad inceffum ufu deftituta, nidum
adeo prope aquam fibi ftruit, ut ex eo in vicinam aquam fe devol-
vat facillime demittatque rurfumque nidum petitura, infixo terrae
roftro, quod aduncum habet, molem corporis fublevet, defetum-
que ita pedum utcunque fuppleat. Illius etiam non fpernenda

{unt documenta: quam enim fit pro nido atque pullis fuis anxia

& follicita, exemplo erit, quod quoties largiores imbres preefen-
tifcat, toties, ne torrentium repentino confluvio intumefcens ftag«

, num, alluvione fua nidum inveftefque pullos inundet ac fuffocet,
- metuit, huncque metum querula femper voce atque ejulatu tefta-

tur. Contra vero, cum futuram coeli ferenitatem & clementiam
preefagierit, lzetis quafi acclamationibus fibi atque pullis fuis gra-
tulatur, Atque ex diverfa colymbi noftri vociferatione, ruftici

noftrates,
9

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

noftrates, diverfas cceli aeri{que. mutationes.augurantur. Quando
enim futuros nimbos querulo fuo, hui, hui, hui, predicit, dicunt
vulgo: De verte Beteraff, di Loomin quia faa. E diverfo, cum
- ferenitatis fuo, Karloa, preconem agit aiunt ruftici: Bi fer braat
Turre five Torre, di Loomin roopa Turkeraff. Sic enim pifcatores
ejus vocem emulantur, propterea quod voce hac fudum illis, aeris
qualitatem, pafferibus marinis eorumque fegmentis foli exponen
dis ficcandifque aptam natam, pollicetur : id quod etiam Turkeroff
Norvegis fonat. Ova porro fingulis annis terna vel quaterna
parit ; magnitudine anferinis pene paria, colorifque fere prafini,
fed maculis quibufdam fparfa atque pitta. Terna quidem commu-
miter parit ; quartum vero, nifi unum ei furreptum fuerit, nunqtiam
—addit. Caufam hujus ternarii numeri (cum duos tantum excludat
pullos), adferunt hanc, quod unum quotannis ovum, tributi aut
decime quafi nomine, nefcio cui, in nido relinquere debeat : quod
cum plurimis aliis avibus ipfi commune effe; receptiffima in vul-
gum tert opinio. Effe autem hance avem ex earum numero, que,
flatis anni vicibus; in loca calidiora abeunt, exque iis ad nos re-
deunt, documento effe poteft ejus non fibi fub adultum prope
ver ad nos appulfus, cui rei fidem adftruit inveterata penitus fim-
plicium animis fuperftitio. Creditum enim eft plebecula, fi quis
jejanus nunciam reditus ejus vocem primum auribus hauferit, eum,
intra illius revolutionem anni, quodam propinquorum cognato-
rumve privandum effe. Que itidem de Cuculo longum tenuit
fuperititio. Ulterius modus, quo apud Norvegos Ilandofque ca-
piatur, nobis oftendendus. Apud Norvegos quidem fatis tutum
ipfi eft hofpitium, quippe qui illius carnem -afpernantur, rati in-
fuper nefas elle (de ftolido hoc vulgo intelligendum), avem,
olim fan&am habitam, violare; faniores tamen emuncteque naris
homines, vel fclopis, (quod tamen raro fucceflu fieri fupra monui),
eam petunt, vel retibus pifcatoriis forte involutam, cafu magis,
quam ex inftituto capiunt. Iflandi autem, preter modo dittos
mocos, gemino eam aftu circumveniunt. Vel enim binos ad ip-
fum nidi aditum palos humi defigunt, quibus intermedium quen-
dam laqueum ita aptant, ut petitura nidum avis laqueo collum
inferat, inque certam venatoribus predam cedat : vel ftagnum an-
guftiore fui parte, linea pifcatoria tranfmittunt 3 cujus extrema
duo venatores, ad fuum quifque ftagni latus tenent, illaque fum-
mam aque fuperficiem leviter ftringentes ; avem prenatantem pe-
detentim infequuntur, que infidias elufura, crebris urinationibus
profundum petit, fed eifdem magis adhuc impeditur feque in-
volvit. Ila enim fe fub aquis occultante, co recta pifcatores, la-
queum umbilico liner allizatum dirigunt, quo hauriendi aeris

Parr. iI. Z gratia

85

56

Lund,

NATURAL HISTORY off NORWAY.

@ratia avem emerfuram effe, preevie in aqua. ebullitiones mon:

flrant; atque ita capiti extra aquam exferto laqueum indount,

Quéres, quem in ufum eam noftri homines aucupentur ? Carnem

quidem minus in deliéiis habent ; exuvias autem, pectori capiti-

que contra injurias hyemis muniendis, appetunt & conquirunt. In-
fignem enim didis corporis humani partibus, ob plumaram deli-
catam mollitiem ac denfitatem, operam preftant. Capiti quidem
tale ex iis faciunt tegmen, quali vuleus aulicorum plurimum
utuntur, vulgus a Kabbutz fua lingua vocat. PeGtori fementum
longe faluberrimum prebet, adeo ut vel cygno, cujus apad dk
tiores exuviz multo in pretio, nihil cedat, |

The Lund, or Lund-Talle, the Anas Ar&ica, or Pope, is a
middle-fiz'd Sea-bird, fomething larger than a Pidgeon, black and
white, and on account of his beak, is called by fome the Norve-
gian Parrot ; for it is pretty large, and hooked like a Parrot’s,
tho’ thinner and broader, and ftriped prettily with yellow, red,
and black. This bill is fo fharp, that when he bites any of the
bird-catchers he takes off a large piece of flefh: his claws are
alfo very fharp, with which, and his beak, he defends himfelf
againft the Raven, his enemy, whom he holds by the: throat,
and will carry him out to fea, and drown him, before he loofes
his hold. This Bird builds his neft, (in which it lies on its

back) not always alike, but according to the fituation of the

place ; for if it be low, then it will make a flanting hole in
the ground two or three ells deep ; but if it be rocks and cliffs,
then the Bird looks for holes between the cracks and open-
ings: fometimes alfo it builds between great ftones, that are
broke out, or loofened on the fides of thefe rocks, and where
it is the moft difficult to get at them. The farmers have parti-
cular dogs, broke on purpofe for their fervice, to go in, and pull
out the firft they can lay hold of by the wings, where they are
together in fcores, or fometimes one or two hundred together:
their way is, that when one is laid hold of, and drawn out, he
bites faft hold of his next neighbour, and draws him with him ;
and all daying hold in the fame manner, that they muft all be
drawn out, and :killed. If the hole be not very deep, or the
rock not fo fteep but that the bird-catcher can get at it, then
they ufe a long flick to drive them out ; this has a fharp hook at
the end. | | a | .
Lucas Debes writes, p. 137, that on Farroe they alfo catch
thefe Birds, when they come from fea and feek their neft, with
a net fpread ona pole, and kept open with a erofs flick, into
which they carelefsly fly ; this way they catch fometimes ~ in
mele | | a day.

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY. —

a day *. The Lund lays bat: one egg at a time, which is as
big again ‘as one would imagine, in proportion to the bignefs of
its body; and is of a brownifh colour. If this be taken away
from her, then fhe lays another, but-has hardly time to rear the
young one to perfection by bringing it fifh, fo that they coms
monly perifh ; and the mother follows the fight when the time
comes, namely, juft before, or juft after Olai day, when they
all together leave thefe parts, after having been here from the
beginning of the month of April. What time they remain in
Nordland, particularly on Roft and Veroen, where they are
found in the greateft numbers; or whether they winter there, I
do not know. They are a very cleanly Bird, for when they
leave their neft, they clean it, and ferape away all the foulnefs ;
and then ftrew giafs over it, that they may find it the next year
in proper order: they are very valuable for their feathers, which
are exported, particularly from Nordland, in vaft quantities, and
bear a very good price: they are reckoned the next in good-
nefs and foftnefs to the Edderfugl+, Mr. Peder Dafs defcribes
this Bird, in his Nordland Trompet, p: 82, ‘pretty fully: and
Franc. Willughbeius, who {peaking of the Scotch Iflands, where
this Bird, together with many other of the Sea-Birds belonging to
this country are found, fays, that when there happens on their
paffage in the Autumn, to come ftormy and bad weather, fo that
they cannot move away, many perifh with hunger and fatigue,
and are found dead in heaps by the fifhing-men: there have
been found alfo fome of them under water, feemingly as if afleep,
or in a fate of infenfibility; and when drawn up by the fither-
men, has come to itfelf, and flew to land again. From this one
may conclude that the Lunden, like the Swallow, may lie in a
france, or flate of infenfibility, under the water. See Ornitholog.
Lib, iil. cap. ve p. 245. ,

SD 2.C eT. THA:

| The Maage or Gull, called here Maafe, is a well-known Strand- Maage.
Bird of various fpecies, yet all of one genus; for they. all live
upon {mall fith, infe@s, fea-weeds, or the like, indeed on any

* This circumftance makes me almoft think that our Norvegian Lund is not fo
fagacious by day as by night. It is, without doubt, the fame Bird that Pere Labat
defcribes in his Voyage aux Ifles de l’Amerique, Tom. ii. p. 349. calling it Diable or
Diablotin ; the other properties, as‘alfo his time of departing from his abode, and the
trouble he gives to catch him in the cracks of the fteep ‘rocks, all agree.

‘-; Many of the Nordland farmers, that have fhares in a tock, make it their chief
Maintenance, and even grow rich and confiderable in their ftation, if they keep many
dogs; tho’ their neighbours will take care that they fhall not, by keeping too many,
deprive them of their advantages; neither is this fuffered by the government.

thing

$8 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

thing that is found on the furface of the water, or along the coatt
for it is not the cuftom af the Maagen to duck under the water
for its food ; his gullet and craw are fo large, that there has been:
found feven herrings in one of them at once; his beak is long,
and fomewhat bent at the extremity ; and upwards towards the
head there are two longifh noftrils ; his legs are but thin and flen-
der, but his wingsare ftrong. The difference of the feveral kinds of
Gulls is this, that fome are of a light grey colour, and large,
which are called Graa-Maafer ; thefe have a yellow bill and red legs,
and are of the fize of acommonhen. Some differ only by being
blue and white, with fome black feathers on the hinder part.
Some are black on the wings and ‘back, which are called Swarte-
bager; of this is that called the Scarecrow. Others again
are fmaller, and of a blueifh colour, which are called See-Unger :
they build their neft near the water, particularly on the fmall
iflands and cliffs in the fea, which are covered with fuch numbers
of them, that they appear quite white *: their eggs, which are
mot defvicable food, are taken away in large quantities. Each
female lays three eggs ; they are very large, with great black
fpots; they fit alternately on them, and hatch them in about
14 days: the birdmen catch them with an angling-hook like
fifh; the flefh is not ufed, and they are skinned with the
down on, which is very thick, and makes their {mall body appear
much larger than it is+. When the Gull is coming into the
water betwixt the cliffs and iflands, and the main land, then the
farmer knows it is time to make ufe of his nets to fifth ; for moft
kinds of fith come here in fhoals, which this Bird purfues
wherever they go. |
Mufvit. See Kiodmeife. 7 | |
Natvake. The Natvake, a fmall Bird, which, no donbt, has that name
from its watchfulnefs, and making an odd kind of noife all night ;
it is otherwife not much knowntome. __
Reale The Nordwinds-Pibe is fomething lefs than a Starling ; of a grey
Pibe, colour: it has, without doubt, this name from a noife that it
makes, as is obferved, when the North wind is to blow ; this, if
true, muft come from an extraordinary fenfation he feels in his

body at that time.

* Sometimes the Eagle vifits them to feaft himfelf, but then they gather together
to defend themfelves, and with a loud fhriek and noife fcare this king of Birds, and

often put him to flight .
+A particular fort of Strand-Maager, which are found about Greenland; but as
far as I know, not here: they are called by the Hollanders Mallemokke. See Ander-

fon’s Defcription of Greenland, §. xxx, p.m. 168.

The.

NATURAL HISTORY of WORWAY 4

The Nodde-Skrigeris of the fize of a Pigeon; in colour it is noase
blue and, white: it haunts the oak and hazel trees. Ya ‘nis
Orn, the Eagle, Aquila, a well-known, large, ftrong and om.
majeftic Bird, is held amongft Birds as the lion amongft the
beafts, for king. J. Klein reckons, p. 41, eight forts of Eagles,
of which two. only are known here, namely, the Rock=Eagle,
and the Fifh-Eagle; the firft is-alfo called here the Slag-Orn: it
is fomething lefs than. the other, and {potted with grey; it haunts
the higheft places in the country, and kills hares, fheep, lambs,
and the like animals, as well as Birds; and if one may believe
the farmers accounts, they add, that he will attack a deer fome-
times: in this enterprize he makes ufe of this ftratagem ; he
foaks his wings in water, and then covers them with fand and
gravel, with which he flies againft the deéer’s face, and blinds
him for a time; the pain of this fets him running about like a
diftracted. creature, and frequently he tumbles down a rock, of
fome fteep place, and breaks his neck ; thus he becomes a prey
to the Eagle. Many have affured me, that the fame device is
practifed by this Bird on horfes, particularly the old and worn
out; and I have both heard, and readin foreign authors, many
accounts of their carrying away children of twoor three years
old, but never believed it, till a very worthy man, who was
well acquainted with the fact, aflured me of the following inci=
dent. Inthe year 1737,, in the parifh of Norderhougs on Rin-
geringe, a boy of about two years old had got out into the
fields to-look for his parents, who were at work pretty near the
houfe, but not near enough to fave this child ftom an Eagle,
who ftuck his talons into him, and flew away with him, which
the poor parents beheld with inexpreflible grief and angulth.
Hr. Anderfon, in his Defcription of Iceland, §- xxxviii. p- m.
38. fays, that children of four or five years old have been taken:
away by the Eagles; which the learned anonymous Icelander,
who has illuftrated the Danifh tranflation with his comment,
doubts, p.. 282, in regard to the age. Ray * gives an account
of a child of a year oldi, in the Orkney iflands, that was carried
away four miles by an Eagle to his neft, where the mother found
it unhurt, and took it away: many more fuch inftances may be

met with in authors, as a warning to carelefs parents.

~ * Que infantalum unius anni pannis involutum arripuit (quem: mater teffelas uffi-
biles pro igne allatura, momento temporis @epofuerat in loco Hautonhead dicto) eum-
que deportaffe’ per'4 millia: pafftum ad Hoyam. Qua re ex matris ejulatu cognita,

quatuor viri illuc in navicula profeéti funt, & fcientes ubi nidus effet, infantulum ille-
fum 8 intactum deprehenderunt. Ray. Prodom, Hitt, Nat. Scot,

rawy, I, Ag The

90 NATURAL HISTORY of VORW AY.

Fih Eagle | ‘The Fifk-Orny or Fifh-Eagle, is of a light brown colour, and
| exceeds the former in fize.. This does not diflike a dead carcafe on
fhore, but lives principally on fith; which it often watches to take
from the otters, and frequently feizes, on the furface of the water.
It will eatialfo the heads and entrails of fith, which are left in
great heaps,’ after the cleanfing and falting of fith, and fall to the
ihare of many other Birds and Beafts ; but when the Eagle comes
all belongs to him alone. When this Bird flies out at fea to
firike'a fith with his talons, he fometimes happens to lay hold of
fuch’ as are'too ftrong for him, and they will drag him down to
the bottom ; this has been particularly feen more than once with
the Helleflynder, “which is called here Queéite, and will be
defcribed hereafter. This is fo large, that it will fometimes fill a
cafk : the Queit’s high and prominent back makes him appear, in
the eyes of the Eagle, much lefs than he really is: when the
Eagle ftrikes his talons into him he cannot eafily get them
outagain, becaufe of their crookednefs and length ; fo that the
fifh drags him down with him ; and the Bird makes a miferable
cry, keeping himfelf up, and working with his wings f{pread
as long as he poffibly can, tho’ in vain; for at laft he muft yield,
and become a prey to thofe he intended to devour. This may
ferve as an emblem to many ftupid and inconfiderate enterprizers.
T have been told that our Sundmoerfke fifhers fometimes catch this
Kind of fith with Eagle’s talons in the backs of them, and covered
over with flefh and fat: this is a mark of the fith’s conquering;
as aforefaid *. - And I have been alfo told by feveral very credit-
able people, from their own knowledge, another unfortunate
expedition of the Eagle ; which {hews that this mighty king of
Birdsis-often in the wrong, and extends his attempts beyond his
power among the fifh. An incident of this kind happened. not
far from Bergen; where an'Eagle ftood on the bank of a river,
and faw a large falmon, as if it were juft under him; he ftruck
inftantly one of his talons into the root of an elm juft by and
partly hanging over the river, the other he {truck into the falmon,
which was very large, and in his proper element, which doubled’
his {trength, fo that he fwam away, and iplit the Eagle to his
neck, making literally a fpread Eagle of him; a creature other-
' wife known only in heraldry. |
_* The.crocodile plays his perfecutor the tyger much the fame kind of a trick, when

he has {truck his claws in that creature’s eyes; according to Hr. Condamine, in his
Voyage on the Amazone River. See Hamb. Magazine, Vol. yi. 3d St. p. 256.

S-E.C; Le

~

NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY.

He eye Ai Se: Eee PHI veglericit ta me och ne BHR 0}
~Raage. See \Allike, 2 0 5 qo ait 2S “DAE (2D Shieh Pyd
Ravn, the Raven, Corvus, is here, as in other places, well rg.

known to be a voracious and hurtful Bird with us: it not only!
deftroys other Birds, and their eggs; but alfo.lambs‘and kids. For:
this reafon, according to Mr. L. Debes’s account, it: was ufual

formerly, and is ftill at-Faroe; that each farmer, on St. Olai’s:

day, is obliged to bring a Raven’s head with him, or forfeit four.
fkillings. The fame author alfo fays, p. 125, that in this coun
try there are found fome, tho’ few, that are. white 5 and fome'
half white and half black. Thefe Birds are eafily taught to
- Willughbeius gives an account, Lib. iii. cap. 3. p. 248, of the

9%0

Sea Raven, with feet like a Goofe, called the Cormorant, which ‘Cormorant.

are found oa the Scotch iflands, and: confequently here’; for we?
have all kind of Birds in common with them; though I have had»
no particular account of this Bird‘from my obfervers. He fays of
thefe, that they are tamed and broke in the fame manner as the
Otters, to catch fifh: for their mafters ufe, of which the Cormo-
rant brings afhore a pretty deal together, and then -cafts! them
up. This Bird’s-way” of catching’ fifh is to fill his: craw with!
them, and throw them up when he comes afhore, for the family’s
ufe ; fo that they do not look very tempting to eat. We have
the Night Raven alfo here, which differs by his frightful: noife in:
the night, and is thencenamed Ny@i Corax, © 9) ns
Reyn Spoe. ‘' See Heiloe. Pat
- Ringetroft, See Droflell. - | | orettan sf
Of the Rype, or Partridge, we have in Norway two forts,
namely, the Field Rype, ‘which lives very high in the rocks, and:
is lefs than the other, and the common fort ; they are both much:
about the fize ofa Pigeon, which they alfo refemble, excepting that
their legs are covered with feathers ; and they are therefore called
Lagopus, i. e: Hare foot. T'he common Partridge, which haunts.
the low’ vallies or dales, is fomething larger, about the fize of
a fmall Chicken. Both forts. are white in the Winter, in the
Spring fpeckled, and in the Summer grey ; they’ are here ih great
quantities, yet fome years more than others *. LS)

-.* When the firlt fhow comes with the eat or north-eaft wind.from the high moun-
tains down into the vallies, then we here, in the diocefe of Bergen,’ expect a\ great
quantity, of Partridges, but if the firft fnow comes with a welt or fouth-weft;: wind,
then it carries them up towards the rocks, and we don’t get many that year hereabout.

They

Rype.

9%

NATURAL HISTORY of MORWAY.:
They are fhot, or catch’d in nets, or under a heavy board fet up
for that purpofe: they are brought~to this town in the Winter
by thoufands, and are put up half roafted in firkins, and fent

* away to other countries: their flefh, next to the Growle and

God’s provi-
dence.

Francolin, is the beft-of any Wauld-fowl we: have, efpecially when’
they are fot; for when they. are: {mothered, the blood. re~
mains in them,,-and they neither look nor eat well. In the Sumi->
mer they live upom berries, tops of trees, and other greens 5 but
in the Winter they do as has been faid of: the Growfe. They
feek covering’ and warmth by burying themfelves in the deepeft
fnow, where they fit in great heaps together, taking a magazine
of food with them: im their crops, by ftuffing them as fullas they’
can with elm and birch-tops, fo that their breafts ftand out, and
makes them look as big again. » With this: {tore they fupport
themfelves till the following Spring. This particular I have from:
Ol. Magn. Li. xix. c: 33. It) was, known alfo to Derham, and 1s:
quoted in hisPhyfico Theologic. Lab. iv..c. 13. asandnftance of the!
Admighty and Wife Creator’s care, for thofe things that otherwile
would: perifh.. The Partridge isa national and peculiar Norvegian
Bird, and belongs toi them perhaps rather than any other country. P

-muftobfénve that they are frequent, tho’ not in fuch abundance in:

Pruffian. Courland and Switzerland *. Mr: Jac. Klein, whom: b
have: often quoted, fpeaks of them, in. his Hiftoria Avium, p.!
r73, thus: Lagopus, Fielripor, Sniertpor, Tetrao reCtictbusr
altibus intermediis nigris, apice albis,, Linn. F. Suec. Schnee-Hen,,
Haffel-Hen, with Hare’s feet, paulo majores funt. attagenibus-
noftris, plantis pedum quoque villofis, prout pedes leporum.
Ejufmodi ut in Curlandia, nec non in.Pruffia, haud procula civi-
tate Tilfit, immo in Alpibus Helveticis aliifque. Nonnullas die
Zo: Jan. 1747, 0% Pruflia acceptas habut,. quarum alteram totam: ~
albam, preeten roftriam, inferam: caudam & {ex fcaphos remigum,de-
Linearicurabam. Ungues habent latos concavos, &c. Utrum in Pruffia
vertio & “autuimnali, temporibus: fimiliter colores. mutent Lagopt
proprie dicti,, pro certo: affirmare non aufim. They are alfo found
on the Pyrenean:mountains, and. in the Summer Aly up) the hills
in queft: of the ice and: fnow, which they love. ‘This! is at-
tefted by: Gafparie-Schotti, in his Phyfica Curiofa, Lib. ix. cap.
48, p. 1009, Reperiuntur Lagopodes in: Alpibus & Pyrenzis
montibus & in fummis jugis. In frigore, nive & glacie delec-
tantur, ut ubi locis inferioribus liquantur nives, altiora, && foli.
averfa petant’ loca, in.quibus nix perennat. Latent homine con=

* Dr. Shaw defcribes the African Bird which he calls Kitaviah, fomething like Ry-.

pen, though of a quite different colour, See his Voyage du Levant, Tom. i. p. 327.
{pecto

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. of

‘f{pecto & cavent motu fe prodere. Tantz fimplicitatis funt, ut a
venatoribus difpofitam lapidum feriem tranfire non audeant, &e.
The laft words put me in mind, that in many other places they
make ftone walls without mortar, which the Partridges will not
go over; but here in Norway the farmers make a kind of a fence
in the fnow, of furz, at the ends of which they. put their fnares,
into which the filly Birds run, and are caught. oi?

Za

The Hawk isa great enemy tothem, and they are fo frightned
by that Bird fometimes, that they fly into the hands of men;
but they do not find themfelves there better protected. ‘

SECT. V.

The Sandterne, is a Norvegian Bird, unknown to me 3 which sandieme.
J. Ramus, amongft others, only names, p. 2409. | at
_ The Sandtal, or Lapwing, called alfo Tendelob, is, without sonata
doubt, the fame as is otherwife called by a fhorter name, Ten,
This laft, of which I have a cireumftantial account, are a fort of
Strand Gulls, tho’ very different from thofe forts before defcrib’d 5
they are not near fo large, and are moft like the fmaller kind.
¥n colour they are fomewhat like a blue Gull, white underneath,
with fome black feathers at the extremity of their wings and
tail; and on their head they havea mighty pretty little black
crown, a red lengifh bill, fmall red legs, and, juft above their
eyes, a {mall red mark. i | |
This Bird remains here but a fhort time, namely, from about
Midfammer-day until Autumn, and lays in the mean time three
grey fpotted eggs, like Pigeons eggs: in eight days the young
ate hatch’d, and in a very few more are fully able to provide for
themfelves: by which we fee how nature operates, according to
time and opportunity. Their food is infels and fmall fith,
which fwim pretty high in the water, or run in upon the flats:
they do not take them with their bill, but with their wings,
. which are of aconfiderable length ; and they do it in this man-
ner: they fly feveral fathom high, and draw their wings toge-
ther, and then drop down fuddenly upon the fifth like a ftone;
then they sgrafp their prey with their wings, and carry them
away prifoners, he ena sw ols 7
The Savorren, isa pretty large Sea-Bird, in body and neck givorren,
not unlike the Growfe, but belon ing to the Goofe or Duck
kind; for they axe whole footed We have no very exact
account of them, for they are not feen longer in thefe feas than
the month of January and beginning of February ; they then,
Parr II, : Bb , | like

94

Sieben-

{chwantz.

Siifgen.

Skade.

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

like other fifh-hunters of their kind, come to fifh for the Winter
herrings, at the beginning of the feafon. | are
—Sey-Unge. See Maafe. ,
The Siebenfchwantz, as it is commonly called, I believe to be
the Sieden or Seidenfchwantz, which Hr. Klein, p. 70, reckons
to be of the Thrufh kind, and calls them, among others; , la
Grive Bohemienne, like thofe of Fabro, called Micro-pheenix,
perhaps becaufe we fee but one at a time *. ‘This Bird probably
has the name of Siebenfchwatz from its long tail, adorned with
fine fhining feathers, red, blue, and yellow, which makes them
extremely pretty: it is called alfo the Bohemian Chatterer.
Almoft at the end of each feather on the wings, which other-
wife are of various colours, there isa {mall red bright fpot,
like red fealing wax. pe | 7
The Siifgen is a fmall dark-coloured Bird ;. we have them in
great abundance, and. particularly where there are pine trees.’
-. The Skade, Skiszre, Skior, Pica, the Magpie, a common well-
known Bird, which hardly needs to be deferibed: it lives about
houfes; and is therefore called in this country Tun-Fowl, that is,
a domeftic Bird. They feed upon carrion; and if they lay hold
of a very young kid, which they do fometimes, the farmer is
afraid to revenge himfelf, being of opinion that this his neigh-
bour has a greater right- than other Birds of prey, and knows
how to retaliate an injury. They build their neft in trees,
very carefully, of fmall fticks, and the like, with a cover, and
an entrance in the fide. They are very fond of their young;
and of their eggs: if one boil the eggs, and put them in the
neft again, they will fit upon them till they die: if their tongue
be flit, and they are taught alittle, they’ll not be fhort of the
Parrot in’ talking. The Skov-Skaden, or Wood-Magpie, . are
here grey and white, fpeckled or ftriped, with fome red feathers ;
they do not go near the houfes, as the others, but mimick the
voice of other Birds.and beafts. If any one comes near their neft,
they'll boldly fly full in their face to prevent the taking away
their young. etashbant mse pas:

.

* This fine Bird, whofe food is juniper-berries, is reckoned, by Hr. Joh. Heinr.
Zorn, to be originally of this country ; and from hence to have gone into Germany :
«: The name Bohemelein is founded upon a groundlefs opinion that it is an exotic
<¢ Bird, and comes from Bohemia, which is fuppofed as much its. original | native
« place as. this; tho’, in their paflage through Bohemia, and on, account of food,
“< they may like to ftay there, yet ’tis moft probable they come from the more
‘ diftant northern parts; and, like other Juniper-Birds, have only ftraggled hither.”

The

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 5

_ The Strand-Skade,. which lives near the water, and feeds on
{nails and oyfters, has red:legs, but:no back-toe: this is fuppofed
to be the Hemantopus of Pliny. 3 aA
The Skarv, the Columbus, or Loon, is a pretty large Sea-Bird 3 skarv.

"tis larger than a Duck, and has legs and feet like them, excepting
that the outermoft toe is much longer than the reft: on all the toes
it has long, crooked, and fharp claws ; thefe, as alfo the whole body
of the Bird, are black ; the legs ftland further out on each fide,
than on the Duck or Goofe; fo that they ftraddle a great deal
wider: their neck, tail and wings are very long; on the top. of
their neck there is a green bright feather. We have three kinds
of them; the firft is called ‘Top-Skarv, becaufe it has a tuft on
his head ; this does not come into the rivers, but keeps to the
outermoft iflands. The other fort are larger ; and thefe are
diftinguifhed bya large white fpot, like a crown piece, on-each
of their black thighs, which gives them the name. of Huiidlaaring,
White Thighs. The third fort are without any fuch diftinétion ;
but they are lefs than the firft, and larger than the laft : this Bird
keeps near the fea on the-fteepeft rocks*, and lay three fnow-
white eggs like Goofe egos; they fit upon them, by turns, three
weeks: thefe eggs have this particular quality, that they cannot. be
boiled hard, but always remain liquid. The young are white at
firft; they don’t-grow black till after the third: week; and
then they live with the old ones, which are: mighty expert. at
_ catching finall fith, and dive, as the fifhermen fay, very deep, even
20 or 30 fathoms, to fetch up all kind of {mall fifh, of which one
fometimes finds fuch a number in their craw when they. are killed,
that it is impofiible to conceive it; and ftill more furprifing it muft
appear, yet neverthelefs it is flrictly true, and ftands. confirmed
by many that have made. their obfervations, that tho’ the Loon’s
neck is'long and flender, and it would be difficult to thruftdown
. two fingers into it, yet the Bird can ftretch the mufculous parts
of his throat fo wide, as to {wallow. a flounder half a foot
broad, fuch haying been found in his ftomach. When the Loon
comes afhore he ftretches:-himfelf upon, his legs againft the wind,
that he maybe thoroughly dried ; but as this feldom happens,
we call, inthis country, any body that is wet, flovenly, and
difagreeable, a Loon ; or if they have their cloaths but. feldom
dry, we fay, He.is as wet asa Loon. | es
De “As thefe Birds harbour together in great ‘numbers, the farmers ufe this piece of
art'to catch them: in therevening, when they are all got together, they take their

boats and row under thefe rocks, and make a large fire; the fudden heat and fmoak
intoxicates them, and they drop down in heaps, and are eafily killed, |

The

96

' $krabe.

Skues

Snee-fugl.

Sneppe.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORP UF

The Skrabe is a middle+fized Sea-bird ; fo called, becanfe it
fcrapes or digs itfelf a hole down in the ground, or in gravel
and fand betwixt the ftones, to make its neft like the Pope or
Ardtick Duck. It lies there, not as other Birds, on its belly,
but on its back: Lucas Debes gives an account, p. 133, that
on Farroe, where this kind are moft frequent, the people eat
their young ones, of which they have annually but one, and
fay that it is fatter than a fed Goofe ; which is the more remark-
able, becanfe it is fed by the mother only at nights, and does
=i g her all day. Any thing further I donot know of this’
Bird. |

The Skue, ot Black Diver, is in make and form like a large
Gull, and ’tis coal-black lke a Raven. It lives in the manner as
has been faid of the Jo-fuglen; not by fithing for it, for he is
not able to dive ; but by robbing other Birds of what they have
caught: he purfues them one after another, beats them with
his wings, and does not leave them till they let flip what they
have got, and he catches it in the fall; how they manage with
their young I have not been able to learn ; but all agree that
they are very fierce when any one approaches their neft, and are
not afraid to lay hold with their beak, and give hard blows with
their wings. The fowlers therefore are forced to make ufe of
knives fometirnes to defend themfelves, againft which the Birds
fly, and are killed. , pea aie |

The Snee-fugl, or Winter-fugl, the Snow-bird, fo called
becaufe they appear at the latter end. of the Winter, or againft
the Spring, when theré is much fhow, and are not feen any more
flying about when the Summer advances; they are always in
the country. They live in the cracks of the higheft rocks, and feed
upon worms, flies, and infe&s. The form of this Bird is like a
large Gull, or fomething larger ; “tis black and white: the hen
is mote inclinable to grey, the head is large and round. __

The Sneppe, or Snipe ; called alfo oe Langfnabel, on
account of his long beak, is of a middling fize, as big again as a
Chaffinch, and excellent to eat when it is fat: fome call them
Myr-Snepper, becaufe they live in mofies and on heaths. Thefe
are brown, and have a little black on the back. ‘The Wood-
Snipe is much of the fame kind, but is reckoned better for
food, and wholefomer. The Strand-Snipe is the leaft; ‘tis of a
light colour, and almoft like a Gull; it lives. on dhell-fith,
worms, and {mall fifh along the coaft. Each-of thefe kinds may
be divided again into three or four forts, but the difference is but
fmall, and what I am not enough acquainted with. The Snipe
ae is

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. ee

is a Bird of paflage 5 1t comes in'the Spring, and “goesiaWayoin —
the Winter. aus ‘ad Meibe oltiescos beatin beet or

The Solfort, or Miflel-Bird, is a {mall Bird, fomething like. a soto.
Thrufh or Starling, and is of that fpecies: it is reckoned delir
cate food, like the reft of that kind; they diftinguifh themfélves

by finging on Summer evenings till midnight. | spit
.. The Spette, Trae-pikker, or Tree-hakker, the Wood-pecker, spette.
is a middle-fized Bird of various colours, with avery {trong beak,
and in it a long and pointed tongue, of a peculiar fhape;. the
end of which is hard, and like horn; the beak is.fo fharp and
firong, that the Wood-pecker can bore a very deep hole with it in

a tree. They build their nefts in hollow trees; their feet have
~ four long toes, of which two ftand forward, and the other: two
quite backward); they live chiefly upon worms, maggots and in-
feats, that they find under the bark of trees: they hunt them
about, and kill them with their long fharp-pointed tongue ; with
which they can exactly hit the fmalleft prey. There are many
forts of Wood-peckers, differing only in colours; as the green,
the black, and) the yellow Wood-pecker; the two firft have red
caps as°it were on their heads... : | 97 pro

. The Spove, or Godwit, is a Land-bird of that kind, that free spove:
quent the fea-coaft without going into the water. They watch
along the fhore to catchythe fhell-fith and, other {mall fithes ‘that
are driven up, It:is.a middle-fized Bird, ‘almoft like a Partridge ;
' brown and grey, fpeckled under the breaft, and has long legs

for a Bird of its fize ; thefe are like a Stork’s: it has alfo a very
long and crooked bill, longer than the Snipe’s. ‘They. build
their neff imothe: open country; not?ifar from ‘the fea, ‘and lay
three: darkifh eggs,aboutethe fize.of .a>hen’s, whichthe: male

and female fition alternately for’ 14 days. They come in the
Saber go away in Autumn, tho’ late, when the firt {now
Pateng Hak: odie} ets oi ysis ¢ ve was D Sewn

/ 0'The Spurre;::the Sparrow, is: here, as: in other places, mote Spurre;
common than ithe farmer could swith. “The grey Spurrer,’ which
ufually keeps:near the houfes, are called here Huus-keld : ‘the
yellow and greenifh fort lives moftly in the woods*. ‘The
white Spurrer, of which Aldsovandus, in Ornitholog. Lib. xv.

¢. 10. fpeaks, are alfo found'here in the Winter’ in fome: places,
ae ayia oa. Aa affures ie tat thefe ‘ate not properly of ‘the fecond kind :
Tae ad bead tee AEM Gao
ae Part I]. ; . Ce ; tHe’

98

Ster.

Steendulp.

Stillitz.

Stork.

Svale,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW AY

tho’ that difference ptobably 1s only a change of their colour,

as the Partridges and hares become white in Winter; but I
do not know any more of this, than what Olig. Jacobszeus, in

- Mufeo Regio, Se. ii. p. 12. writes: In quibufdam Norvegize

locis tempore hyemali pafferes omnes niveum colorem indueré non-
nulli referunt. rsp |

The Ster or Star, the Starling, is in fhape like a Thrufh; it
is black and fpotted; this fort appears ufually in great flights, and
builds its neftin barns or ftables. The Starling has two broods of
young ina year; and in the Winter they remain with us in a
{tate of infenfibility.

The Steendulp, or Steenfquette, the Water-wagtail, fo called
becaufe it builds its neft among ftones, is a fmall grey and white
Bird, fomething like aSparrow: it is called by fome Quick Stiert,
becaufe it is always wagging its tail. _ fe pada i

The Stillitz, the Goldfinch, is a well-known pretty little
Bird, admired for its finging, and frequently kept in acage.

The Stork, does not properly belong to this work, becaufe- it
is not a native of this country, and but few Norvegians have ever
feen one, efpecially eaftward. Some perfons tell me they have fven
Storks weftward, but then perhaps only a fingle one, and never
to make any flay, or build their nefts ; fo that they have. proba-
bly been ftray’d ones, that by accident had left the flock *. ~

Strand Erle. See Fier Muus.

Strand Skade. SeeSkade. = - ~~ oor oA

The Svale, or Swallow, is very well known by-~ its building
about houfes. Hr. Jac. Klein, in his Hiftoria Avium, juft pub-
lifhed, p. 195, &feq. has given a long differtation concerning
the Swallows place of habitation in the Winter: he has inferted
feveral well-attefted accounts, that perfons have found them. at

that feafon in the water, which does not want confirmation. in

this country ; for almoft every body knows that towards the
Winter, after they have chirped about a little; or, as we fay,
fung their Swallow-fong, they fly in flocks together, and plunge
themfelves down in frefh-water lakes, and commonly amongft

- reeds and bufhes; whence, in the Spring, they come forth again,

and take poffeffion of their former dwellings. Our fifhermen in

* The {carcity of this Bird in Norway, one may fay is, like the reft of God’s works,
wifely contrived ; for this country has lefs occafion for them’ than others, and they
would find lefs to live upon, becaufe here, as has been faid before, are fewer Snakes
and poifonous creatures. ‘This reafon is jufter than Dr. Owen’s jeft of the Stork’s
averfion to thofe cities or towns in Germany where they do not -pay the clergy their
tenths : Il rapporte, que les cigognes font favorables au clerge, car elles ne veulent point
fejourner dans aucune ville d’Allemagne, ou l’on ne paye point de dimes aux Ecclefi-
aftiques. Biblioth. Britan. Tom. xix. p. 180. h
the

NATURALHISTORY of VORW AY. 99
the Winter fometimes, by accident, fall upon whole flocks of
Swallows in this fate, and bring them up by fcores, and even
by hundreds together: they find them coupled two and two
together, with their legs entangled, and bills {tuck in one ano-
ther ; and they appear all together like a ftrange mafs. If they
are brought into a warm room they will begin to move in
half an hour, and in a little while will flutter, and fly about ;
yet this untimely and unnatural reviving does not laft longer than
an hour at moft, and then they entirely die. In Olaus Magnus’s
time this experiment was well known in this country, and is
deferibed in his Hiftor. Septentr. lib. xix. cap. 11 *.

_ The Svane, the Swan; is a ftranger in this climate, and is properly svane:
no Norvegian Bird, and therefore never feen in the eaft coun-
try, where the rivers are always frozen up in the Winter; but on
the weftern fide, where I (Part i. chap.i.) have obferved that the
Winters are much milder than in Denmark, or many parts of Ger-
many ; and where the fea is always open and unfrozen, there
are Swans, particularly in Sundfiord, near Svane Gaard, and
thereabouts, tho’ not in any great number ; for they are but the
offspring of fome few flragelers, which the fevere Winters of
1709 and 1740 in particular, drove hither to feek for open
waters ; at which time the cold was fo fevere, that even in
France the centinels died on their pofts, the vines were kill’d by
the froft, and the Birds dropt down déad out of the air; the
whole Eaft Sea was at that time frozen-over ; fo that people travell’d
from Copenhagen to Dantzick upon the ice, as fecure as if they tra-
vell’d on land ; but all the fale waters in this country were, at that
time, open ; and alfo at Bergens-Vaag God’s wonderful providence
brought us at that time many Water-fowls, before unknown to us,
and amongft them Swans, This mutt appear wonderful to a philo-
fopher, who would certainly never be perfuaded to look for fluid
water in the North, when it was frozen in the South ¢,-
Sondenwinds-Fugl, the South-wind Bird, fo called becan(e it sitio.
is never feen but when the South-wind begins to blow, as the "8!
before-mentioned Nordwinds Pibe prognofticates the North-wind ;
fo that thefe two fpecies of Birds ferve here as a living Weather-
glafs, forming their prognoftications not from deep confidera-
tion and conelufions, but from the greater or leffer preflure

vy Neverthelefs this inconteftible truth has been lately, and without the leaft founda-
tion, contr adicted by George Edwards, in his Natural Hiftory of Birds, See Biblioth,
Britannique, Tom. xxiii. P. i, p. 210, ; .

tT InDr. Nic. Horrebow’s Account of Iceland, juft publifhed, we read with furprize

that Swans are found there in great numbers in the Summer, in frefh water; and in
the Winter in the open fea. §. 44, :
of

roo

Teitt.

Tield.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

of the air on their bodies ; juft as the cat’s feratching the trees

_ portends a ftorm. Not to mention the many almanacks: people

have about their bodies, to tell them :when bad weather is
coming. The fmall Bird which has occafioned this digreffion
is alfo called Haren. It is black, larger than a Starling, and
has a very fharp beak. Whether it is known any where elfe I
cannot fay; but I have not met with this, nor feveral’ other.
Norvegian Birds, amoneft the feveral writers of Ornithology. +
5 Be Cao VEL 3

Terne. See Sandterne. | wt.nt heditakap

The Teift, is a Sea-bird of the eatable kind, and is very well
tafted : it is fomething lefs than the Razor-bill, and has red legs,

and a red bill, which laft is moderately long. In the Summer
they are black, with half their wings white; and in the Winter

they change to a light grey, and that fo fuddenly, that in a few

Winter-nights one may immediately perceive’ the. difference
they lay two prey {potted eggs, like a Pigeon’s. The male and
female fit upon them by turns, for fourteen days : they build in
hollows and cracks in the rocks, near the fea. Hr. Ramus fays,
p. 250, that the Teiften’s dung is ‘of a deep red colour, and they
live pon a kind of ‘thell-fith, which they get along the fea-
coalt, which poffibly occafions that red colour. It is that kind
of fhell-fith from which purple was firft produced. It is pro-
bable that thefe purple-f{nails might alfo be found here in great
quantities, if they were fearch’d for. See further, Cap. ii. §. 11.
of the infe& called Roe Aat. tenet
Ten. See Sandtallen, or Tendeloben *.
The Tield, called alfo Glib, and by fome Strand Skade, tho’
this name perhaps is given to two different forts of Birds. The
Tielden pretty much refembles the Loon: it has a long yellow
beak butting out towards the end : the feet are half cloven and
half webb’d, like thofe kind of Birds that live upon fuch prey as is
caught both on land and in ‘water. = They come early in the
Spring, and~ by ‘their cries fright other Birds. This Bird is -a
great enemy to the Raven : it flies againft him’ with violence,
and fticks his thick and fharp bill into him; this makes him
fet up a melancholy noife, and take to'flight; for this reafon the
Tielden is the farmer’s favourite, and is treated as a protector and

* The three names, “Twine, or Terne, Tedn, and Ten, belong, without doubt, to
one and the fame Birds fer the eaftern and weftern dialect makes it appear fo in other
things; as when, they, according to the Danifh manner of expreffing, fhould. fay,,
Jern, Horn, Korn, Barn, they fay, in their way, Jedn, Hodn, Kodn, Baadn.

welcome

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 101
weleome uel, that muft not be abufed. Their manner of breed- |

ing is unknown to me. ie Sita ie was igagod Bag
- The Tiur, ‘Teer, Todder, Uregallus Major, the Cock of the Tiw.
Wood, is a large Wood-bird, in the general appearance not un-
hkean Eagle, and is the largeft of all the eatable Birds in. this
country. “It refembles’ a wild Turkeycock, efpecially “in the
_ bill and’ feet, tho’ the ‘claws. are fomewhat more crooked:
this is to be underftood of the cock, who is black, and fome-
times of a dark-grey, and has fome red about the eyes. The hen,
called Roy,°is much lefs; and <is brownifh, with black {pots *:
they generally are found in great woods, where they live upon
juniper-berries and fir-tops:: this may be perceived by the tafte of
their flefh, which is otherwife very tender, and an excellent dith
roafted : it has from this food that refinous tafte for which it is fo
remarkable. In Winter they bury themfelves in the fnow, like the
Partridge and Growfe, but not deep; nor do they flay there in
the night. This is the reafon that they are deftroyed by the
fox, who knows how to find out their unfafe quarters. They
have alfo a dangerous enemy in the Gols-hawk, which they do
not oppofe, tho” they. ate much larger’. When they are about
breeding: it is faid the cock fwells, and raifes his feathers like a
Turkey-cock, and makes afort of cracking noife with his bill.
Some writers make no other difference betwixt the Cock of the
Wood and the leffer Tetrao, than that they are a larger fort of
the fame fpecies, and call this Urogallus, Tetrao Major. By the
Venetians, Gallo di Montagna. Angl. Cock of the Mountain, or
of the Wood. | | 4
Trea-Pikker. See Spette.
Troft. See Droifell.

SECT. VIII.

Vagtel, Coturnix, the Quail, a {mall, delicious, and fearce vaster,
Bird: it is found in fome places in the eaft country, and alfo at
Jedderen ; but here I have not feen them.

Vibe, the Plover, a well-known Bird, of a middling fize, vite
of a brown and grey colour, and diftinguifhed by a tuft on the
back part of his neck, and by the uncommon noife which be-
trays his neft when he wants to conceal it: there are not many of

* Grygallum majorem Gefneri & Aldrovandi hujus avis foeminam effe exiftimo,
foemiria enim in hoc genere avium, colorum varietate & pulchritudine mares excel-
lunt. Cum vero Gefnerus putaverit, in nulio animalium genere foeminam mari pul-
chritudine anteire, prafumpta hac opinione deceptus in utroque urogalla feu Tetraone
majore fcilicet & minore diverfum fexum pro divewa {fpecie habuit & defcripfit.
Willoughb. Ornitholog. Lib. ii, c. 12, §. 1. p.124,

Parr II. Dd them

102

Berg Ugle.

Kat Ugle.

NATURAL HISTORY off VORWAY.

them hereabouts:s : what we have are moftly im Tonsberg-Lehn |
and Borrefyffel. sat inn ieiatelniia,. 1;
The Ugle, the Owl: of this Bird we have two forts, namely,

Go7% i

the greateft foes: the greateft friends may become the .greateft
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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
CHAPTER V.
fs Concerning FISH ant FISHERIES.

Sect. I. The breeding of Fifh, and their abundance in the north fea. Sect. Il.

~ General obfervations on Fifhes. Sect. Ill. The order and divifion of the

» kinds. Secr. IV. Of the Eel, Lamprey, Perch and Gurnard: Sect. V.
Of the Rock-fifb, Blue-fifh, Bleak, Bream, Anchovy, and others. Sect. V1.
Of the Flounder and Plaife kind, and feveral others. Srcr. VII. Of the
Shark, its various kinds, the Lurbot, and others. Sect. VIII, The Whale,
ats various kinds, the Whiting, Stittleback, and others. Srcr. 1X. Of the
Sea-Fox, Carp, Sea-Calves, and others, |

MST eR eT

ORWAY. is-as plentifully fupplied as any country in the
woild with Fifh, both of the falt and frefh waters: and as

to the firft, namely, the Salt-water Fifh, Iam in doubt if any
place can equal us and Iceland, if we except North America, and
particularly Terre Neuve; where the French, in this century,
have eftablifhed a rich and advantageous Cod and Salmon-fifhery,

263

not inferior to our Norvegian one. Under the thick and con- sp, eee
tinual flakes of ice, which cover the North fea, from the 8oth bees he noth

degtee to the pole, feems the proper abode of the beft kind of |

fithes, or their native country. There they breed in peace, and
are protected from the devouring Whale. The lungs of this Fith
are formed like thofe of a land-animal, and therefore he muf:
often fetch breath; confequently he does not venture to eo him-

felf far under the ice: yet the other fpecies of Fith, particularly -

the Herring, &c. which will be defcribed hereafter as the moft

confiderable, feem inftigated by the Creator to come forth -into -

the wide ocean for the fervice of mankind *; and as foon’as that
. he My | sat Dappens,

* Thofe kinds of Fith, which are oviparous, or generated of fpawn, come annually
near the coaft, and without.doubt continue there fome time ; that they may, in the nar-
tow channels and creeks, difcharge their fpawn with greater fafety than in the wide
ocean: for experience teaches that they come in full-roed, but go out to feathin and
fhotten. And what is moft remarkable, that on their departure they fwallow {mall
ftones, to fill their belly, as it were to ferve as ballaft, in the room of the difcharged
fpawn. When our fifhermen find fmall ftones in the bellies of the Fith, they take in
thefe fhallow waters, they conclude that they are preparing for their departure, and
go feveral miles out at fea, on the fand banks, to caft their nets, Some are of

Opinion,

104

Peregrina-
tion.

Numters,

NATURAL HISTOR of VORW4AN»

happens, towards the.end of the year, the Whale, and his affo-
ciates; the Porpoife, Grampus, and the like, ftand ready to

execute God's decree, which is to bunt andsterrify thefe fmall

Fifh, and to fend them where they are wanted. How this is
done will be explained hereafter, in the article of Herrings, and
the Whale, therefore I fhall not detain my reader at prefent with
thofe particulars: they are, indeed, very remarkable, and of
fervice to fhew God’s wife and affectionate economy. I fhall
now in the firft place obferve, that as moft. kinds of Fith
love beft to be in the coldeft waters, they are therefore more
healthful and fine in Winter than in Summer > and are found not
only in the greateft quantities towards the north pole, but are
alfo much fatter and finer there. When they, ‘as has been
obferved by their annual fpawning, are obliged to emigrate,
and are on that occafion driven ‘about in inexpreffibly \-large
fhoals by the fifh of prey, which are God’s inftruments decreed
for that purpofe, they are fent farther fouthward ; by which
they lofe fome of their flrength and fat. This happens in
the long voyage they take; and they fometimes approach
the coafts before they recover of their fatigue. When they
grow better the females difcharge their fpawn, and the males
their femen ; by which they are again weakened and emaciated
for fome time. The firft inhabited land from the north pole;

that thefe emigrants or ftrolling fith‘colonies touch upon; next to

{celand *, “is Finmarken and Norway; as alfo the: north’ of
Scotland, and the Orkneys. In thefe places they are found’ in
fuch multitudes, particularly the Herrings, Mackarel, and fome
other kinds of Fifh, that it will appear incredible to my readers,
who live in other countries, to whom I fhall feem to have tranf-

greffled the bounds of probability ; tho’ I have not been able,

MIOS Sts
opinion, that the Fifh feeks the creeks, fhores and fhallows, for the fake of. frefher
water, than that of the ocean, which is fuppofed to promote their breeding, The
manner of their ejecting the Spawn, according to fome obfervations, particularly
with regard to the Salmon, is this; namely, the Fith bends. itfelf quite crooked
on one fide, by which means the roe fquirts out at the excretory duét: and when
a fhoal of females have thus difcharged: the roe, then the males: come and ‘dif=
charge or eject their generative fluid in the fame manner over it. Pens

* In Iceland there is a great deal of fifh catched, particularly of the Cod kind;
which may be known by the annual fhip-loads that are fent to Copenhagen and
Gluckftat : and it is certain, that as Iceland lies near the place of their firft departure,
there might be caught ten times as many, if that country was not in fuch want of
wood, and confequently of boats and fhips. This confideration ought to remind
the Norvegians to take more care of their woods than they do at prefent here on
the weft fide, ‘Was it poffible that we could deftroy all our woods, then certainly
our fifheries would likewife be ‘deftroyed; for fo many boats, and the feveral
100,000 planks which are annually required for that fervice, would become too
dear.

in

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAZAY.

articles, to exprefs myfelf fufficiently to convey a juft idea of
the vaft multitudes that have been obferved here: ' When I
firft came hither I could not. believe it myfelf, till I was: con-
winced by ocular demonftration, as well as the teftimony of many
fubftantial. witneffes *. f | | |
There is no country in Europe'fitter for the ftudy of Ichtyo-
logy, or for enquiring into: the natural hiftory of Fifth) than
the diocefe of Bergen, and the manor of Nordland in the diocefe
of Tronheim. When we obferve the pains that Bellonius,; Ron-
delet, Salvian, Aldrovand, Gefner, and beyond them all, Wil-

loughby, took, to give a fufficient account of this important

rt of the ftudy of nature, we cannot help wifhing’ that fome
of thofe learned and indefatigable perfons, had been at thele
places to make their obfervations, where they certainly would
have made more important difcoveries than the reader has
to expect from me; for it would require the whole life of an
accomplifh’d man. I only write in general a Hiftory of the
Natural Curiofities in Norway, and confequently cannot enlarge,
as might be wifhed, upon every article in particular; much lef
can I, as the learned authors before-mentioned have done, enter
upon the anatomy of every particular Fifh; yet, neverthelefs, I
hope that thofe, who hereafter may endeavour to bring this
Knowledge to a greater. perfection, will find more of the effen-
tial articles colleGed in this narrow compafs, than in many
larger, and otherwife more particular defcriptions. What I
here relate for a certainty may be depended upon, and. will
be found, on the niceft. examination, to be every where ftriftly
true: where I have beem under the leaft doubt, I have not
pofitively affirmed the circumftance.

on bak aaniedte eos Cbs lle
Before I begin to treat of the feveral Fifhes jn particular, I
fhall quote a few lines out of Rollin’s Treatife, entitled,
Physique des Enfans, or the Study of Nature, for the Service of
Youth, which conduce to ‘the glory of our Great Creator, my

105

principal end. In chap, ii. concerning Fifh, he fays, “‘ How MAaNy General pro-
“ kinds of Fith of various fizes do the waters produce! I con- een ae

“ template all thefe, and it feems to me, ‘that there is’ nothin
“¢ but a head and tail ; they have no hands’ or feet, and their

* From Karfund near Stavanger, quite to Tromfen. in Nordland, are, with God’s
bleffing, annually catched fuch vaft. quantities of Herrings, the feveral kinds of Cod,
and other valuable Fifth, that this Commodity alone brings in, on a moderate
calculation, a million of rix-dollars, and fometimes more,

Parr II, | , Bye. “« head

106

NATURAL HISTORY! & VORP AY.
“ head has no free: motion. If I was to draw any conclufions
“ from) their form, I'fhould think! that there ‘wanted: vevery
‘< neceflary |to fupport life ; yet, with fo» few> external >parts,
they are more active, quicker, and more’ ingenious, than if

“* they had many hands and feet. They know fo well how to

“ ufe their tails and fins, that. they fhoot:forward like an arrow
« from the bow, and rather: fly than: fwim. Fifh devour one

“ another continually ; how, therefore, it. might be afked, can
“* thefe inhabitants ‘of the water fubfift! But here God’s provi-
“¢ dence has -allotted means,.and) orders: it thus, that their

‘© breed.and. encreafe fhall be wonderfully great, and that theit

“< fruitfalnefs fhall by much exceed, their neceflity of “devouring
“ each-other$ fo. that thofe which are eaten by others; are always
<¢ very fhort of thofe which arife from the next’ brood’*. “When
<< I confider how thé-fmall Fith efcape from the large, by whom
‘“< they are looked. upon: as-a prey belonging to:them, to hunt
‘“<asithey pleafe, Ifee the weak are much themimbler ; and are
‘‘ always prepared to fly in places where the water 1s fo fhallow, as
‘¢ not to allow the large to follow them; fo it feems that the
“ Creator has made up for their weaknefs by giving them fo
** much circumfpection.| How comes it that Fifh can live, and
‘‘ even be fo healthy and fo well in {uch waters, that I could
‘<< not beara drop of in my mouth?) How do they; \1n the midft.
“ of falt, preferve their flefh from tafting of it? How comes
“ it that the.beft and. fitteft. Fih for the ufe of mankind
** approach the, fhore, and, as it were,. offer: themfelves to. our
“: wants ; when, on the contrary,, others, that are’ not fo ufeful,
“6 keep: farther off }?. Why do :Herrings, Mackarel, Occ. all
«¢ which, in the time of their increafe and growth, live in un-
‘¢ known places, at certain feafons appear in our feas about the
“© coafts, as if to offer themfelves to the Fifhermen, and even throw

> & themfelves into the nets, and on the» hooks ? ‘Why do many

Fith,, as the Lax, Oreder, Aal, &c. crowd themfelves in

- *® For that reafon there are but few Sea-animals, as the Whale, Porpoife, and
Grampus, that,-according to the manner of land-animals, bring forth their’ young
alive ;. the moft*are oviparous, or fuch as breed from fpawn: and contrary to Birds,
which lay,annually in each neft a few eggs, each of thefe has annually .many tooo
eggs to caft on the bottom of the fea. The author of Biblioth. Britannique, “Lox
P. 4. p. 177. isnot entirely of Mr. Rollin’s opinion in this refpect, with regard to
God’s providence and immediate defign. .: Soi: 4 Tee
+ In this the glory of God’s providence is moft remarkable ; we. fee each Fifh in its
kind has, at certain fix’d feafons of the year, a particular. inclination to approach the
land; and this always at a time when they are the fatteft, and not emaciated by
breeding: as the Salmon in the Spring, Mackarel after Midfummer, Herrings in the
Autumn, Cod in the Winter, &c. “hae ,

‘© heaps

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. - 107

‘“‘ heaps.up, the mouth of rivers, to go ftill further up,, that
* the land may participate of the benefits of the ocean, which
lies far off? Whofe hand but thine, O Lord, guides them
fo. wifely! tho’ thy great care is feldom received with due

a Af ONK
an NOON

thankfulnefs.” So far Mr. Rollin.
PES see Bhs SSE Tet
What I haye before obferved concerning the dividing and order and di.

ranging of birds in different clafles, is applicable to Filhes 5 Fithes.
namely, that altho’ fuch a method tends to give a clearer idea
of them, yet. there. arifes from it greater confufion; for many,
nearly allied in one refpe&, may have relation to another clafs in
fome other particular; fo that thefe frequent exceptions render
that method in itfelf uncertain, and liable to great perplexity.
For this reafon I fhall here again follow the order of the alpha-
bet, diftributing the Fifhes of Norway according to their
names. Neverthelefs, there are certain Fifh and Sea-animals,
which are fo-entirely diftin@ from the reft of the inhabitants of
the watery element, that one cannot conveniently mix them with
the reft: for that reafon I have taken thefe laft out of the pro-
pofed alphabetical order, and put them-each by themfelves in
two chapters: Thefe are firft the different kinds of Fifh, which
are furrounded with a ftony or hard fhell, wherein they live as if
in a houfe, that grows with them: and, fecondly, the various
Sea-moniters, as they are called, or noxious animals in the
North fea; of which fome have hitherto been held in doubt;
and looked upon as chimeras. Thefe laft, I hope, from this
time, will have fome credit with thofe that have not
_ thrown off all hiftorical faith. When thofe two clafles are
feparated, then the reft will follow one another, according to
the order of the alphabet, as has been faid above. |

See PON

Aal, the Eel, Anguilla, is a long and round Fifh, very well aa
Known every where; it is beft and fatteft in frefh waters, but it
{eldom grows there above 24 or 30 inches long; but, on the con-
trary, the Norway Sea-Eels, which are leaner, are four or five ells
long, and are much like a fnake, according to the Latin name
Anguilla, which fignifies a kind of fhake, or fomething allied to
that fpecies *. They thrive beft in muddy waters, and. are

“a
“a

* A friend of mine has told me, that he has feen an Eel two fathoms long,
and, when cut up, an ell wide; his people took it to be a {nake, and would not

eat it,
. fond

108

- Aalequabbe.

Aafkizer-Nioté

Aborre.

Ankertrold.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWZ4Y.

fond of flefh of any kind ;° but that they fhould generate in
thefe waters, without being produced from eggs or feed, which has
been faid ; as alfo, that there is no difference of fexes amongft them,
appears to me improbable ; tho’ an old opinion, and received by
moft natural hiftorians. Francis Willoughby is himfelf in doubt
of this matter: he fays, in Hift, Pifc. Lib. iv. cap. lv. p. Ir.
Anguillam neque marem effe neque foeminam, neque prolem ex
fe generare tradit Ariftoteles, & alibi nec per coitum ‘procreari,
nec parere ova, nec ullam captam unquam efle, que aut femen
genitale aut ova haberet, &c. Rondeletius, vidifle fe anguillas
mutuo corporum complexu coeuntes affirmat, neque putare fe
partibus ad gignendum neceflariis prorfus deftitutas efle, inferi-
ore enim ventris parte, & vulva in foeminis, & femen in mari--
bus reperitur, fed pinguedine multa circumfufse hee partes non
apparent. This opinion of Rondelet, which has been rejeGted
by many, is confirmed by our Norvegian fifhermen ; who fay, that
out of the Eel’s belly are feen fometimes young Eels hanging, as
if in their birth. Eels are catched here in the night, as they are
in Denmark, partly with hooks, and partly with a kind of
buckets, wide at the entrance, and runs down floping, and fo
contrived within, that they do not eafily find a paffage out ; in
thefe they put Herrings, or other Fifh; by way of bait. Eel-
fithing is not of fuch confequence, as ‘to carry on a foreign
trade with. | | *3 .

The Aalequabbe, or Lamprey, is generally not above twelve
inches long ; otherwife it is very like the common Kel, -except
that it is remarkably different as to the head and mouth, which is
very broad, and much like a frog’s. In this, inftead of teeth,
there are two fharp bones like knives or {ciflars; about the
middle of the belly 1s a white fpot, the reft being brown. They
have as little roe as the common Eel, and they bring forth their
young alive: this isa fact beyond doubt. |

The Aafkiaer-Niot, the Gurnard, is a {mall Sea-fifh, not above fix
inches long, of a brown colour, fpotted witha fhining white, with a
head almoft {quare and fharp at the end. In tafte it is not unlike
a Mackarel ; it is catched with a line, and when taken out of
the water is heard to grumble and fnort, which. 1s very different
from all other Fifh, — | ad

The Aborre or Perch, Perca, is a well-known Fifh; it is found
in the frefh-water lakes in Norway, particularly eaftward, large
and. fat: it is called here by: fome Tryde, by others Skibbo.

Ankertrold. See the following chapter, Krake.

SECT.

ee

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAK ~ 109

=i a 8 E.Cal. 2M.

The Berggylte, the Rock-fith, is a falt-water Fith; it has feales Berggytte.
and fins likea Carp, and is of a reddifh colour : ’tis called by fome
the Norvegian Carp; it is commonly from nine to twelve
inches in length, and about fix broad. This Fith is fat and
_well-tafted, but ‘tis better cold than hot: they are generally
caught under the perpendicular rocks, or projecting cliffs, with
a hook. | ? |

The Blaaskaal, the Blue-fith, called alfo Blaaftak, alfo the Blaaskaal.
Siogumme, is like the Bergylten in every thing, excepting that
it is lefs, and is of a blue and green colour, with pretty ftripes,
fuch as are upon a Mackarel. |

The Blankenfteen is a Sea-fith, fo called for its filver-colour’d Blankentteen.
_ bright feales; in fhape it is very much like a Herring, but it is
fomething longer, and narrower towards the tail: it is alfo
caught with a line, but not in any great quantity, and is not
much regarded. PES

The Bleege, the Bleak, a well-tafted Fith, frequent both in Blecge.
falt and frefh water, tho’ moft in the laft. In fhape and fize
it is like a Dace, but it differs from it in the unfpotted filver
colour. |
The Brafen, the Bream, Brama, is well known, and found in Baten,

the eaft country. 3 | eT

_ The Brifling, Encraficholus, the Anchovy, is properly of the priting.
Herring kind, but much lefs; the largeft is about four inches in
length ; ‘tis broadifh, fat, and delicious; they are caught every
where in the warm Summer months, in {mall mafh’d nets ; fome-
times they take an incredibe quantity at a draught. They are
not only eaten frefh, but are falted, and put up in barrels with
fpices, and fent to feveral foreign countries, where they are
called Anchovies, and they pay a good price. for them. Thefe
only differ from a fmall Herring by the roughnefs of the belly,
when they are ftroaked with a Finger, from the tail upwards.

The Brigde, the Fin-fith, is a large Fifh, 40 feet or more in Brigde.
length ; fome account them of the Whale kind, others of the
Porpoife. Their liver alone yields feveral casks of train oil; on
their back they have a high, round, and tharp bone, with which
they tear open other Fifhes bellies ; and they are covered with a
kind of hair, fomething like a horfe’s main ; they are often feen
about the fifhermens boats, who are as much afraid of them as of
the moft’ dangerous fea-monfter. Sometimes they are caught, tho’
feldom, and that is when they get into a creek, and entangle

Part II. Ff them-

IIo

Brofmer.

Elveritze.

Fifke Kong.

Flynder.

NATURAL HISTORY of VOR AY. -

themfelves in the fifhing-nets: tho’ they carry the nets away, they
are fo encumbered by them, that ‘one may eafily ftick them
with a fpear. nat ye oo ce 4 ;

The Brofmer, is a good fea-fith, of a moderate fize, with a
fhort and round head, and a {lippery-fkin, like an Eel, but the
fleth is firm, and agreeable to eat; the roe alfo is-counted very
delicious. Our fifhermen fay they live very much amongft the
fea-fhrubs, and feed on them. They are caught moftly in the
Summer months, in deep water, with lines. T hey are falted
down, or dry’d,:and then exported. Perhaps this is the fame
Fith that is called in France, Brame de Mer, the Sea-bream ; but
I only guefs fo by the name. Sy bi bile

SE OT wi
Elveritze, afmall Fifh, which has its name from rivers wherein

they are generally catch’d. — ie

Fifke Kong, King of. the Fithes : two kinds of Fith are called
by this name ; one is of the Cod, and the other of the Sea Bream
kind. This laft is not much different from the ordinary fort, ex-
cept that it has a lump as big as a man’s fift on the head, which fan-
ciful people fuppofe to be beform’d like a crown ; from whence the
fifhermen have taken the liberty to call him King of the Fifhes.

Flynder, the Flounder:, of this Flat-Fith, which includes
a great many branches, we have here chiefly four forts ;, namely,
The Hellebut, or Plaice (not the large Helle-flynder, which
is called here Queite, and will be taken notice of hereafter):

this is a pretty large and roundifh Flounder, fat and flefhy,

with red fpots on the fkin. 2. The Krobbe-flynder, fome-
thing lefs, black and rough, or full of {mall prickles: this has
very firm flefh. 3. The Sand-flynder: this has feales on the
{kin, and is grey on one fide, but, like the reft, white on’ the
other, or under fide. 4. The Flirer: thefe are the leaft, but
the beft tafted of all: they are partly caught in nets, partly
with fifhing hooks, and fometimes they are ftuck with a
{mall bearded lance, which is done thus: when the fifhermen
row their boats over fandy ground, where the Flounders are feen
in clear weather lying in heaps together, they drop a line with a
heavy lead to it, under which the little lance is fix’d, which,
by the weight of the lead, fticks in the Flounder, fo that he muft
follow the line up: by this method they foon fill the boat with
them. In Nordland and Sundmoer this Fith is found in the greateft
perfection ; it is dry’d and exported with a good profit. Th.
Bartholinus mentions (in his Hift. Anatom.) a remarkable Fleas

er,

“NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

der, marked with a crofs on one fide. “ Pafler pifcis 1650, a pif-

catoribus Bergis Norveg. captus, fignum crucis craffioris in ventre

gerebat manifeftum idque in fumma cute. Ad ufum menfe,
—culine D. Jani Schelderupii, Epifc. Bergenfis, affinis mei hono-
randi, inferebatur. Sed ancilla, vifo crucis figno, perterrita, cul-
trum fufpendit, pifcemque illuftrem plurium curiofitati referva-
vit. Anguli cracis & latera equalia, fuperficies plana & cum
cute zqualis, &c. in exficcato pifce difparuit fere crux. Cent. il.
Hift. 33, p. 225.” Yet it is not uncommon to fee upon Floun-
ders, Plaife, Square Fifh, and other Sea-Fifh fkins, the figures

of fiars, circles, fquares, and other marks, which give them

a particular afpedt.

TEES.

Floy-filk, or Flying-fifh, 1s fo called from his flying above the oan

water: the largeft I have feen are hardly a foot long. This Fifh
has a pretty large, tho’ thin and light head; the mouth I have
always found open, perhaps to catch the air, and lighten them-
felves in fome degree with it; the body is fmall, roundifh, and
runs tapering towards the tail: it is nearly like a large Herring
in fhape. Befides the ufual fins, they have under their necks

three broad and pretty long ones, of a different and more fubtil

ftrudiure: thefe are nearly as thin as a fly’s wings, but they are
ftrengthened with half a fcore rows of bone, running between
the two membranes. On the back part of their neck they have
alfo a wing, or flying fin, about fix inches long, quite ered ;

and lower down the back, another fhorter, but broader. Thefe Privilege fo:

wings are the gift of nature to fave themfelves with, when pur-
fued by thofe that are too powerful for them. They are feen in

their flight to raife themfelves feveral feet above the water, and

purfue their courfe the length of two or ‘three gun-fhot, then
they muft drop, becaufe their wings grow dry, which are of no
ufe to them any longer than they hold moift *. : |

I do not know whether thofe Norway Flying-fih, which were
prefented me at Bergen on Sundmoer, may be accounted the fame

“If it was not for the natural property of the wings, which makes it impoffible
for them to fly far, then I] might agree with thofe expounders: of Scripture, who
are of opinion that the great quantity of Selavim, which, in Numbers, Chap. xi,
V. 31. 1s generally tranflated Quails, and which were brought by a great wind from the
fea to the camp of the Ifraelites, were not Birds, but F lying-fith, according to Rudbeck’s,
Ludolfs, and Zeltner’s opinion ; to which kind alfo the foregoing 22d verfe feems to.
allude; as alfo what directly follows, in the 32d verfe, that they were fpread, and hung
up about the camp; which feems'to agree’ beft with the manner of curing Fith that is to
be dry’d: if it be fo, then we muft firft obferve that thofe Oriental Selavim have
more ftrength in the ftructure of their wings to fupport theméelves in a long flight,
than our Norvegian Flying-fifh, =~ ;

with

the weak.

L112

NATURALHISTORY off VORWAY.

with thofe Gafp. Schottus, in his Phyfica Curiofa, Lib. x. Cap. 21.
p.m. 1127, calls “ Hirundines Aquatice, Vand Sualer, Hirundo
hee aquatica a Grecis vocatur yeaa, a maris Adriatici accolis & a
Siculis Rondela, Rondola, Rondinella, ab Hifpanis Pefce volador.
Volant extra aquam ne pifcium majorum preda fiant; demiflé ta-
men quemadmodum aves e flumine aquam haufture. Volantes
fepe vidi in mari Siculo & Tyrrheno, manibus tamen nunquam
contretavi. Volant quamdin ale hument ; cum ficcantur ftatim
decidunt.” | eee

_ The defcription that he adds from Gefner and Rondelet agrees
in moft things with our Norvegian Flying-Fifh, yet it differs in
few particulars; whereas he gives his Vand-{vale Squamas A fperas
rough feales; on the contrary, our Norvegian Fifhes have a
fmooth skin, and no fcales, unlefs they are very fmall, or kept

till they are dry; they have never come to‘ my hands freth out of

Forrelle.

Graafey.
'Gedde.

Gorkyter. —

Giors, or San-
dert.

&uld Lax,

the water, and therefore I cannot fay for a certainty of what
colour they are. He fays the Italian fort are of a dark red, and
ours feem to be of a dark blue. : 7

The Forrelle, is a well-known and well-tafted Fith, fomething
different from the Orreten, partly becaufe it is lefs, and partly
that between the black circles on the skin there are fome red fpots.
They are caught moftly here in {mall rivulets; but when they
grow larger, they go into the lakes, or deeper waters.

Graafey. See Sey. * a

The Gedde, are here very large, and well-tafted, yet I have
not feen any fo large as thofe which Undalinus, p. 36, fays are
found in the lake Store Mios, on Hedemarken, namely, five or
fix feet long: the fame lake may be reckoned to be the beft
ftored with Fith-of any frefh water in the world ; and there are
not lefs than twenty-three kinds of fifth that frequent it. _

A Fifth called the Gorkyter is mentioned. by Mr, Ramus, p.
252, but it is quite unknown to me, tho’ I have enquired yery
carefully after it. Poffibly tis the name that puzzles me, for that
differs according to places. zr

The Giors, or Sandert, is an excellent, and not an exotic, tho’
a fearce fifth: it is found in the frefh-water lake, Store Mios,
before mentioned. ,

The Guld Lax, Trutta, the Trout, 1s a {mall well-tafted Fith,
in form almoft like the common Fifh, of which I fhall fpeak at
large in its place, under the name Lax : but this is very {mall,
feldom above nine inches long, and the mouth is proportionable.
Thefe are fo much lefs than the Salmon, that they are caught in.
: | nets.

ag eee

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
nets. ‘In Nordland they make a fort of -dith- of. them, cutting
the flefh into long flips, and drying. them; which is more
delicate than that of Helle-flynders; or elfe they pickle them;
and eat them as they do pickled Herrings. — | |
Me Ms. Sake tee Meme eau eae

The Haae,, the Shark : this ‘is a very extenfive tribe ; the tase.
feveral kinds are very different in fize, like the dog-kind, which’

creatures they alfo refemble in fiercenefs and voracioufnefs, deftroy-
ing other Fith, Hence the Shark is called Canis Carchatias : but
they moftly refemble the dog-fpecies in: this; viz. that there are
fome very large, even feveral fathoms in! length, and fome very
mall, about two feet when full ¢rown: but before I defcribe
each of thefe forts in particular, I fhall {peak of them in general;
- namely, firft, that they have no bones, properly fo called, ex-
cepting that of the back, but only a ‘cartilaginous of priftly fub-
flance, inftead of bones: in the {econd place, they do not, like
moft kinds of fith, eje& their fpawn, but are viviparous, and,
like the Whale, bring forth their young alive, five or fix at a
birth, from a fort of umbilical opening. In its belly. are a kind
of eggs, as largeas a hen’s ; but they are foft,and have no white.
They hang together as it wete bya thread, and férve for food
fometimes for the poorer fort *. In the third place, their skin is
hard, rough, and full of a vaft number of {mall ;prickles ; their
fins are large, broad, and thick; which goldf{miths, ivory-turhers,
carvers, &c. make ufe of to polith their work.- The Gulhaaén,
one of this kind of fifth, which fhall be prefently deferibed,
has not fuch a rough skin, but in that particular is like other
Fifh. The fourth obfervation I thall make is, that the mouth of
the whole tribe of Sharks:is not placed’ like that of any other
kind of Fifh, but underneath a pretty long fnout, which juts
out, defigned, as it were, to prevent their deftroying other F ifh
in too great quantities ; for they are obliged to turn upon their
backs: when they would devour their prey, unlefs it happens’ to

11Z

{wim juft under them. This wife’ conttivance of Providence cor’. provi-

tends, no doubt, to the prefervation of other Fifh in fome Mea- °°

fure, becaufe the Shark is the fierceft and moft voracious of all
the Sea-fh +. He bites very keenly, and has a vaft appetite
Part IL Psa) yg) Weaite Se eee ee. | he

» ™Phe young Shark lies in’a different pofture from that of moft Fith of the vivi-.
parous kind in its mother’s’ womb, and has a communication by a {mall tube, with
the egg above-mentioned, and teceivés its nourifhment from it to the time of its birth.
7 Mr. Derham entertains the fame opinion of God’s providence in this particular,
in his Phyfico-Theolic, B. iv. c. 14. {peaking of the Shark, or the Canis Carcharias,

he

1140

Gul Haae.

NATURALHISTORYof VORVAY. ~

he: ‘devours everythin that falls in -his Way particularly
the Mackarel, and: is'> extremely fond of human: flefh*.'' lam
therefore inclined to agree ‘with thofe who are of opinion» that
the large Fifth which fwallowed -Jonah; was rather a great Shark
than a Whale, whofe narrow throat feems very improper to fwal-
low a whole human body. Afterthefe general obfervations, I
fhall briefly treatofteach kind of Sharks in particular,

The common Shark is of a middling fize, feldom above three
or four feet long, and has a fharp bone on the back part of its
neck, like a'boar’s'tusk’:: its skin is of a grey colour, and their
flefh not fo delicate as‘ to be coveted for the table, unlefs when’
there is a fearcity of other provifion, and then they flea it, and
dry it in the fmoak. © The beft part of it is the liver, which
makes the beft fort of train oil. In the Sprmg, when the Her-
rings and’Cod appear jon the coafts, the Shark,’ together ‘with
other Fifh of prey, drive them before them, and fo execute ‘the
will of the beneficent Creator. Sometimes thefe Fifh come infuch
large fhoals, that they interrupt our regular fifheries ; for one
has bardly thrown out the hook, before a Shark faftens upon it,
and ‘difappoints the fifherman, who was in expe@ation of a Cod.

‘The Gul Haae, or Haae Gule, differs from the laft mention’d
in the fmoothnefs'of the skin, as has been obferved before ; as
alfoin colour, which is a bright yellow. Hence it has the name
Gul Haae 3 iz'e. the Golden Skark.: It differs remarkably from other
Sharks as to its tail; which; in the other kinds, refembles that of
a’ Salmon, excepting that one of the points is fomething longer
than the other; whereas the tail of the Gul Haae is longer than
its whole body, and grows gradually narrower, till it ends in a
point. © On account of this tail it is:called by fome the Sea-Rat,
of which it has fome diftant refemblance, efpecially when the fins
are bent down under its’'belly,; and have the appearance of
legs. The head is very large, and the mouth like that of the
other Sharks. On the back part. of the neck it has a ftrong and
fharp bone, about four: inches! long, bending backwards: but

the moft semarkable thing in this Fifh is his double generative’

he fays, ‘*: Take my worthy friend Dr. Sloane’s obfervation : It hath this particular to
“< it, with fome others of its tribe, that the mouth is in its under part, fo that it muft
‘¢ turn the belly upwards to prey. ‘ And was it not for that time it 1s turning, In.
‘¢ which the purfued fithes efcape, there would be nothing that could avoid it; for it
< is very quick in fwimming, and hath a vaft ftrength, with the largeft fwallow of

“© any Fifh, and is yery devouring.” Sloane’s Voyage to Jamaica, p. 23. i
* Concerning the inhabitants on Viifiden, or Bahus-Lehn, Petrus Undalinus afferts,
p-. 24, what one would hardly think credible ; namely, that the Sharks (which were
then very numerous in thofe parts) are fo fond of human flefh, that they have killed
feveral fifhermen. aay PPE Te + aa”
| land silt Yo Bate member ;

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

mémbet ; for, /as.L,have before obferved, this whole’ tribe is

not oviparous, but bring forth their young alive. This has: his
genitals in their proper place; but whether they all have them
double I do not know: but as for this kind I can affirm, from
my own obfervation, that the male has a double penis, and the

- female a double womb. If the liver of the Gul-Haae be put into:
a glafs veffel in. a warm place, it will diffolve to an oil, and

this is an excellent unguent for all wounds and bruifes. An
experienced apothecary affured me, that he prefers this unguent
to all other remedies which his fhop affords, for external
applications, c :

115

The Sort-Haae, which may likewife be compared to the Sea~so:t Haz.

Rat, differs from the former in fize and colour, for it is much .

lefs than the Gul-Haae ; and is coal black on the back, and of
2 blueith. colour under the belly. Hence it is called by fome
Blaa-Mave; and by.others Morten-Blanke: the tail and the liver
are like thofe of the Gul-Haae ; but the latter is drier, and does
not yield fo much oil. -So much for the {mall Sharks; I now
come to treat of the larger fort ; namely,

. The Haabrand and. Haae-Kierling, or, as the Norvegian Haabrang

peafants. call them, Haae-Kiering, are a fort of hermaphrodites,
or of .both fexes, according to the opinion, of fome writers ;

tho’ I will, not affirm it for a certainty. The Haaebranden is —

but 14 or 15 feet long at the moft; and is-formed like the

other Sharks: it is of a black colour. The fleth of this kind

- is good for nothing ; the liver produces, train oil, -but inferior to
that mentioned above. PE Yin itu Tec. ¢

The Haae-Kigringen ; this is athird fort, larger than the pre- tase.

ceding : it is 19 or 20 feet long; fo that it is.as much as a *'"™*

horfe can carry, even after the liver is taken out, which is
almoft the only valuable part of it, and often yields two casks
of train oil, and fometimes mores .This may feem an extra-
ordinary quantity, but Iam affured of the truth of it, by thofe
who make it their bufinefs to extract it... They alfo cut off from
the belly of it feveral, flips of fat, which are dried) and fold to
the Uplanders, who live moftly on coarfe cheap food. The skin
is taan'd and prepared by the peafants for horfe-furniture, like
the skin of the Selhunde. They catch thefe, with a hook, which
they bait with a piece of ftinking carrion; there muft be an
iron chain of about four or five feet long faftened to the hook,
or elfe he'll cut the line, as they fay, with his rough skin, which,
as I have before obferved, is peculiar to the Shark, or more pro-
bably with his teeth. dart Ah ois) |
ret The

r16

Haae-Meren. “Fhe Haae-Meren is Rill larcer, of the fame? fhape and” make:
with the preceding of a blue and green colour; like'a Mackarels
The tail of this kind 18 more than two fathoms wide ;’by Which’ oie,

Hav-Heft.

Helle-
fynder.

NATURAL. HISTORY of VORW AN

may form an idea of ‘the fize of the body, which, according to’
the account of many eyé-witnefles, is eight or ten’ fathoms long ;

for which reafon this fpeies is’ by fome reckoned ‘of the Whale:
Kind, but gt is truly ‘and properly a Shark 5 "efpecially ag it! is a°

cartilaginous Fifh, and has no bones, excepting one in the back,’
and that but {mall in proportion to its fize. The liver is “but
littie bigger than that of the Haae-Kieringen, with which’ this
Fith is confounded by fome.; but thofe who are judges ‘eafily
make a diftindion, This Fifly is ftuck-with a’ harpoon, and will
fometimes accidentally fall into a Salmon-net, and carry it off P

but he is often fo frightened that he dares not -ftir, and is killed.

without much trouble, and dragoed on fhore with ropes, as
they do the Haae Kixringen. They tow it behind the’ boat if
they want any thing more than its liver ; otherwife they take
that out, and throw the body into the fea. This Haae-Meren
feems to be the fpecies which Willoughby fpeaks of, Lib. iii.
§. ide Pifcibus cartilagineis longis, cap. i. p. 47. in thefe words :

“ Canis carcharias feu Lamia Rondoletii galeoram omnitim maxi-

* mus eft, nam‘ aliquando’ad tantam- magnitudinem’ aecrefcit;
“" ut currui impofita vix a duobus' eqitis vehi poffits Vidimus,
“ inquit Rondoletius, mediocrem 1006 librarum pondere. Nicens
“* fes vero teftatos fibi efle refert Gillius, fefe’ iftinfmodi: pifeem
“ cepifie ad 4000 librarum accederitem, & quod magnam adimi-
“ yationem habet, in ejufdem ventre folidum hominem ‘teperiffe,

© fimileque quid Maffilienfes fibi narraffe, comprehendifle inquam,

“ aliquando, in quo loricatum hominem inveniffent.” ‘This‘con-
firms my former -conjeCture, ‘namely, that it was this Fifth which
fwallowed up the prophet Jonah. To this tribe alfo-belongs the
moft furprizing and deformed Fifth, called Kors-Haae, the Zygena,
or the Hammer-headed Shark ; which, as it belongs to this
fpecies, I will not amit, tho’ it‘is'feldom feen in the Northern fea!
The body of thiskmd is like the Haae:Kiering before deferibéd ;
but from the°form of his head it is called the Kors-Haae-: “its
fhape refembles.a crutch, and there are two great eyes at the ends
of the tranfverfe part of the ‘crofs, at fome diftance from the
head OTHE TSEY 6, Orie See T° O35 1 SRE t
Hay-Heft)’ See'Val-Ros, ©2992 9 tou ee es > novi
The Helle-flynder, the Tuxbot, Hippogloffts Rondeletii’ &

4

noi

Gefnsti, which is otherwife called Queite, and alfo Styving, is’

formed like another Flounder ; the belly, or lower fide, white;
| ~ but

yl

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
but the back, or upper’ fide, is of adark brown; on which are
placed both the eyes, and not one on each fide, like thofe of
other Fifh. The fize of the Turbot in thefe feas is fo great,
that it will cover a large table: the flefh is exceeding good
when frefh, and if it be cut to pieces and falted down, one Fifh
_ will filla cask. They prey upon other Fifth; and when they are
pinched for food they will devour one another’s tails, as has
often been feen; In the Hiftory of Birds I have obferved, that
when the eagle ftrikes its talons into the Turbot’s flefhy
back, and cannot get them out again, he is dragged down to
the bottom of the fea, and often putrifies on his back. This Fifh
alfo ftrives fometimes to be revenged on mankind, though nature
has not furnifhed him with offenfive weapons. This may be
concluded from what was related to me by a fifherman, a perfon of
credit and integrity. This man ftriking at a Queite, or Turbot,
mifs'd his aim, and fell overboard, in two or three fathoms water.
He came down upon a clear fandy bottom, where he was feen
by his companions, with the huge Turbot {preading himfelf upon
him, to prefs him down. He lay in this poftute till his compa-
nions, with their boat-hooks, came to his affiftance. They
have fuch furprizing ftrength in their tail, that the fithermen
muft take great care when they happen to take a very large one,
that he does not ftrike the deck of the boat, for he will fome-
times beat the boards till they are loofe, and might poffibly
overfet the boat. The Turbot comes, like other kinds of Fith,
near the fhore, at certain feafons, particularly in the Spring ; but
it is caught generally out in the main fea, or along the fides of
the fand-bank that projets out to fea, beyond all the iflands,
cliffs, 8cc. that cover our coaft. They catch them here by means
ofa great number of long ropes, each having a large fifhing-
hook faftened to its extremity. All thefe are drago’d at the bot-
tom, and joined to one main line, at the end of which is a
log, by way of float, to mark the place. When this has lain all
night, the next morning they expe to draw three, four, or five
of thefe large Turbots at a time ; the greateft part they falt down 3
from the reft they cut off the fat from their fins, and flices of
their flefh, which are brought here chiefly from Andenes and
| Tromfen, in Nordland, and then they are exported. The
French, who have begun a Turbot-fifhery in North America,
have alfo learnt to cut off the fat about the fins, and thefe flices
from the body of the Fifth. We feldom or never fith for them
after Midfummer-day, becaufe they are grown fo fat then, that
their flefh is {poiled by driving them about, &c. A remarkable

Part II. Hh inftance

ite

118

God’s pro-

vidence,

Horn-fisk.

Horr,

Fival-fisk,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

inftance of the care of Providence is obferved by Mr. Anderfon,
in his Account of Iceland, §. Ixii., p. 88, namely, that thefe.
Turbots, which, like other Fifh of the Flounder-kind, ate, by
their form, the moft unfit to fwim, having no air-bladder, and
therefore muft keep at the bottom in {tormy weather, and ftick
in the fand, are, for that reafon, , provided with a skin,, or mem-
brane, which draws over their eyes, to keep the fand out of them:
This, as well as the reft of the Flounder-kind, feeds chiefly on
young Crabs, and fuch {mall Fifh that crawl upon the fands, and
cannot eafily efcape from them: the Sea-eg-gs, or Sea-urchins alfo,
which ftick to the cliffs, become an eafy prey to them, and isa
food of which they feem very fond *. )

The Horn-filk, or Horn-give, the Murena, is in fhape’ round
and long, like an Eel; it has greenifh bones, and is not ill-
tafted. It is found here, but not in fuch numbers as in Den
mark, and our fifhermen do not much regard it. | ,

The Horr, which we call:-Horke in Denmark, is a {mall freth-
water Fifh, which fome people reckon to be very delicate; but
they are fo full of bones that it is troublefome, and even dan-
gerous, to eat them. eee | 3 ava

| See tne. nc ag
The Hval-filk, or, as we call them here, Qual, the Whale,

Balzena, is a Fifh very well known, by name at leaft, to every
body, though but few know. any thing further of them, there
being fcarce any but the fifhermen who have ever feen them. I
have never had the opportunity of feeing a Whale except once, at
Sognefeefte, and then he only {hewed his back above the water,
which feem’d to be above forty feet long ; and immediately he
div’d again. The whole Whale-kind are divided by fome into
fix or feven, and by others into twice as many fpecies+ 3 tho’ thefe
authors under that name comprehend at large all the viviparous

-Fifhes, which are all formed in the womb of the dam nearly in

* Something very fingular here occurs to me, related by Mr. Affeffor Frius, con-
cerning a frefh-water river, near Gaarden Stafseng, in Nzfne Sogn, on Helgeland, in
which they fometimes catch Turbot, and other Sea-fifh, tho’ this river has not the leat
vifible communication with the. fea; but it muft have it by fome fubterraneous
paflage. The fame is related of a river in Hameroe Kald, Saltens F ogderie, and like-
wife of Lille Mios, in Valders, many miles from the fea.

+. From a manufcript which a learned Icelander fent Ol. Wormius, Th. Bartholi-
nus, Cent. iv. Obfervat. 24, reckons nolefs than 22 forts of Whales, which are caught
in the North-féa ; but what certainty thefe is in this account I will not pretend to fay.
Rondeletius, Bellonius, Schonveld, Faber, Clufius, Tulpius, and others, knew onl
‘thofe call’d Baleena magna, Balena vulgaris, Baleena dentata, Cete, Phyfeter, & Uni-
cornu. ‘My plan obliges me to treat of thofe only that vifit our Norway coaft, tho’
their proper abode is feveral hundred miles from hence, towards the north-wetft. i

| - tne

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

the fame manner. ‘* Cetacei pifces, auctore Ariftotele, ii proprie
“ dicuntur, qui magni funt & perfeGum animal ex femine, non

ex ovo, gignunt, ut Delphint, Balaenz, Phyfeteres. Quanquam ©

alii, tum Latini, tum Greeci veteres, cetaceos acceperint pro
*¢ grandibus cujufvis generis pifcibus. Eofdem Latini belluas
marinas etiam vocarunt, ab immanitate opinor, & magna cum
terreftribus fimilitudine, nam eodem modo concipiuntur & gig-
nuntur, & pulmones habent, renes, veficam, teftes, mentulam,
foemine, vulvam, teftes, mammas ;”’ fays the learned Fr. Wil-
loughby; L. ii..c. 2..p.26. He adds alfo ‘a little further, that
fome are of opinion the reafon why the Whale, which formerly
was feen almoft every where in the ocean, is found now only in
the North fea, is its fear of the fhips, which, fince the opening
of the trade to the Indies, fail about the Spanifh and African
feas: it is therefore fuppofed, that they have deferted thofe feas
upon that account : but this opinion has little probability ; for we
are fenfible that great numbers of fhips fail alfo on the North

Sea; and particularly they muft be difturbed by the many great.

{hips that are ftationed annually on that fifhery. By accident per-
haps thefe Sea-monfters may carry themfelves too far fouthward ;
but their proper refidence doubtlefs has been, as it is now, in the
North-fea: They are annually feen along the weftern coaft of
Norway, about January ; but they are not received as enemies,
nor do they meet with any oppofition, which indeed is not fuf-
fered *, but as friends and allies’; tho’ this circumftance be un-

119

known to them. They are fent by the all-wife Creator feveral ¢,.. bee

hundred miles, to ferve as his inftruments, to drive numberlefs¢"“:

fhoals of Herrings, Mackrel, and other Fith, into the creeks
formed between the rocks and iflands that. cover the coaft, and
about the fand-banks, to be the fubfiftance of many thoufands
of people. . They likewife caufe the importation of a great deal
of wealth, either in {pecie or merchandize. When our peafants
and fifhermenjobferve the Whale at feveral miles diftance, which
they. know .by the appearance, of {mall water-fpouts in the air,
which they eject through the openings in the head, by refpira-
tion, they conclude by this joyful fignal, that the _Winter-
harveit or filhery. is approaching. Immediately the fea appears

ae | bey: | ~ covered,
There are killed however in Sunds parifh, juft by Bergen, and in fome other places,
every Spring, fome of the {mall ones, of 30 or 40 feet in length, which venture too
far in the creeks, and fpoil the fifhing-nets. They are ftuck with harpoons, the points
_ of which the fmiths know how to poifon, fo that about the wound there will appear a
_fpot as big as a fmall difh in circumference, which runs thro’ the fkin, fat and ficth;
which Jaft is turn’d quite white, and often mortify’d. The fleth otherwife is of a dark

red, and appears almoft like beef: it is eaten by our peafants, who have fhewed it
ime, and afiured me that it taftes well, and is wholfome food.

120

Form and
Shape,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

covered, as it were, with a large city, with a great many chim.
nies {moaking ; for the fhoal of Whales generally confifts of
fome thoufands, and they ftretch along the coaft, chiefly from
Stavange or Karmfund, to Chriftianfund, in the diocefe of Tron-
heim, which is about fixty Norway miles. The high water-fpouts
before-mention’d are thrown up by the Whale, on his fetching
breath. Every time he breathes he comes to the furface of the
water 3 for all the cetaceous kind have lungs, and breathe like
quadrupeds, requiring frequent {upplies of frefh air.

The Whale, for its ufefulnefs in driving out the {mall Fifh from
their fhelter, is called here the Herring-whale, of which the fmaller
kind moftly frequents ovr coaft. The large Whale, or Balzna
vulgaris, fometimes, tho’ not often, overfhoots himfelf, and comes
aground, or {trikes upon a rock, and expires there. He then be=
comes the property of the owner of the land, according to the
Norvegian law. Their length amounts frequently to 60 or 70
feet * ; their fhape pretty much refembles that of the Cod: it has
a large head, and {mall eyés In proportion : on the top of the head
there are two openings, or holes, through which it {pouts out the
water taken in, as it breathes, like a fountain, which makes a
violent noife. £08) a

The tkin of the Whale is fmooth, and not very thick ; the
colour of the back is dark, variegated, or marbled; under the
belly it is white ; their fwallow, or throat, is very narrow, in pro~
portion to their fize: under their back-bone lies a long bladder,
which is dilated or contracted as the Fith pleafes. The ufe of this
is not to receive any nourifhment, for none is found there, but
only to lighten the Fifh, and make him buoyant. The tail, which
he makes ufe of as an oar to row himfelf with, and which
prudence forbids to approach too near, has this particularity, that -
it is not perpendicular to the furface of the water as he fwims,
like that of other kinds of Fifh, but horizontal ; and this is the
great characteriftick of the fpecies. They copulate after the
manner of land animals, and to that'end ftand upright on their
- * 7 do not know whether one may depend upon Pliny’s authority, when he fays, in
his Hift. Nat. Lib. ix.c. 3; that in the Indian feas are found Whales four Roman acres
long. Balanas quaternorum jugerum ; that is, 960 feet. Lib. xxxii. cap. 1. he talks
of fome Whales fix hundred feet long, and three hundred and fixty feet broad, which
had been carried in witha flood to Arabia. I think that this cautious writer in other
refpects has, in this point, been too credulous. In the mean time this is true, aerding
to the general opinion, that the fize of the Whale grows lefs by degrees. For thefe
laft twenty years one feldom fees any fo large as they in general were, efpecially near
Greenland, where two or three feldom yield a greater quantity of train-oil than for-
merly was extra¢ted from one. The natural caufe of this feems to be our common
induftry- in catching them, fo that we do not-give them time to attain to their full
erowth, if: ;

: tails.

NATURAL HISTORY off VORWAY.

tails. The mother brings forth but one -or two young ones at a
birth ; they are nine or ten feet long when firft produced : they
fuck the dam’s teats, which are fituated near the aperture, on

the belly. When the young are tired in their courfe, the dam

takes them betwixt her great fins, and fwims away with them

L2I

umediately. Under the fkin the Whale is covered with fat two G@iand der.

or three feet thick, out of which the oil is extra@ed ; and under“

the fat is the flefh of a reddith colour, which is fometimes eaten,
tho’ not much admired ; but the tongue and the tail are reckoned
delicate food. | |

» When the Whale grows old, weeds, Mufcles, and other foul-
nefles, gather upon its back, and always fticking clofe to it, caufes
a very ill fcent, which conftantly attends an old Whale.

Their food is in general certain fall infe4s, which float UPON Feod.

the water in great heaps, and are not larger than flies: befides
thefe, they eat various forts of {mall Fith, particularly Herrings,

which they drive together in great fhoals, and then {wallow in

prodigious quantities at a time *. The Whale commonly goes
under-a large fhoal of Herrings, and at times opens his mouth,
and fucks in all he can. The water, which he takes in with them,
as has been before obferved, he {pouts out of thofe apertures in the
head ; but the Fifh and infe&ts remain behind ; and fometimes he
{wallows fuch vaft quantities, that his belly will hardly contain
them, and 1s even ready to burft, which caufes the Whale to fet
up a hideous roar. — | 3 by eae

According to fome accounts, the Whale often lofes his life by
the violent diftention}. On this occafion, or, when he is pur-
fued by his enemy, the Speckhuggeren, as fhall be mentioned
hereafter, he makes fo terrible a noife that one would imagine it
to be a long clap of thunder. The fame unaccountable noife is
heard if he accidentally falls into the fifhermen’s herring-nets ;
and tho’ he eafily carries them away, yet he is very much affeGted
by the fright. | 4 ya

* Dott. Nic, Horrebrow fays that. the Whale fwallows up whole heaps of Cod alfo,
in his account of Iceland lately publithed, §. 54, Pp. 185, where, among other things,
he relates an-extraordinary accident that happen’d to a Whale that was drove towards
the fhore in time of flood, and:could not get back again with the ebb; fo that the
peafants furprized and killed him; and, exclufive of the Whale, got a booty of 600
Cod-fith, all alive, in his belly, which he had fwallowed Jutt before.

{That the firft, and perhaps the laft circumftance, was known to the poet Silius
Ttalicus, may be concluded from. his words :

—-— Rapidi fera bellua Ponti
Per longam fterili ad partus jactata profundo,

fEftuat & luftrans natam fub gurgite praedam
Abforbet late permixtum vermibus zequor,

PART II. Ty ‘ It

I22

Perfecuted.

~

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

It is feldom heard that they do any harm; for tho’ numbers
of them fometimes come up clofe to the fifhing-boats, yet they
{wim away as foon as the people ftrike the edge of the boat
with the oar: this little alarm drives them away, unlefs it be at
the time that they pair together, and then it is faid they will
come up to the boats with more boldnefs ; fo that they muft row
off to avoid danger. I fhall particularize the manner in which
they are caught on the coaft of Spitzberg and Greenland, and
in Davis's Streights, by thofe fhips that annually go thither,
and part their men into feveral boats, in order to kill them with

harpoons. This is defcribed at large by feveral authors, but no

where more accurately than in Frederick Marten’s Travels in.
Spitzberg and Greenland, cap. vill. p. r1o & fequ. It is very |
well known that their fat, and what is called Whale-bone, which
the fafhion inthis century has brought into great efteem, are
very profitable articles to thofe who are concerned in the Whale
fifhery. That neither their femen nor the brains yield ambergreafe,
as Ol. Magnus imagined, is certain; "but the brains of the famous
Hval-Rav, or Sperma-Ceti Whale, yield the fineft {perma ceti,
as is obferved by Th. Bartholin, in Medic. Domeft. Danor. p.
297 *, Tho’ the Whale is of fuch a monftrous fize, he is often
much harraffed by fmaller Fithes, which he cannot wholly efcape.
The anonymous author of that account, which is annexed to
the Danifh tranflation of Mr. Peirere’s Defcription .of Iceland,
treats (p. 108) of a Fifh that has fharp horns on his back ; and
oblerves, that with thofe weapons it tears open the Whale’s
belly, by running under him, and then preffing himfelf up clofe
to him. There are feveral Birds which purfue and betray the
Whale by the noife they make, and will fall upon him, and beat
him with their beaks, when he comes to the furface of the
water. Tam told by our apothecaries, that the os fepie in their —
fhops, which the peafants here call hvalskiel, and find floating:
upon the water, is the back-bone of a Fifth which fhall- be
deferibed in the following fheets, called Spute or Blek{prute,
the Tuk-fith, or Sepia; which, like the Whale-lice, flicks
clofe to: him, burrowing into his flefh: when he gets to a rock.
to feratch himfelf, he then kills them ; but their skeletons fill
remain fattened to his skin, and leave the os fepix above-
mentioned. The Spekhuggeren, or Vahnen, is alfo a fmall
Fith of about four feet long, and which fhall afterwards be
* The fame is affirmed by Ol. Wormius, in his Mufeum, p. 345 with this addition,
that not all Whales, but thofe fort that are called Dogling, have {perma ceti in their

{cull: this opinion is again contradiéted by Theodorus Haffeeus. See Bibliotheque

Germanique. T. xv. p. 162. o
| : treated

é

NWATURALHISTORY of VORWAY. 123

treated of, plagues the Whale with his fharp teeth, and tears
great pieces of flefh out of him. The Whale not only makes
a moft melancholy and frightful noife when thus bitten, in order
to free himfelf'.from thefe troublefome companions, but will leap
a confiderable height. In thefe leaps he fometimes raifes him-
felf quite perpendicular above the furface of the water, and then
plunges himfelf down with fuch violence into the deep, that
if his head ftrikes againft any of thofe hidden rocks that are
in the fhallows, he fractures his skull, and: comes inftantly floating
up again dead. By this we fee that there is no creature in this
world fo great as to be exempt from calamities and misfortunes ;
and no enemy fo inconfiderable, that it fhould be entirely
defpifed. | | Lae
_ Befides this Whale of enormous fize I have been deferibing, reser forts.
we find on this coaft various {maller forts, all of the fame tribe;
as the Tuequaal, or Bunch-back’d Whale, which is diftinguifhed
by a high bunch which it has upon its back, fomething like a
joad of hay.. The Rorqual, which has lately been feen at Sund-
mer, and is all over of a {nowy white colour. . It is remarkable
of the Troldqual, that they love to play with the fithing-boats,
and get under them. The Spring-hval, or Springeren, is alfo
feen here ; it is about twelve feet long, and is the fmalleft of all
the kind: it is coal black on the back, and white under the
belly; this produces two young ones at a birth, which follow
the dam, hanging to the teats under the breaft*.. Mr. Wilhelm.
Friman, minifter of the parith of Manger, to whom Iam greatly
obliged, as well as the public, for many obférvations on the —
fubje&ts of Birds and Fithes, relates, that he once faw a {mall
Whale of about 22 or 23 feet long, which had a prominent
oval fnout, formed fomething: like the beak of a Goole ; the like
was never feen before by him, or any of the people that were
fpectators with him, Whilft 1am writing on this fubje&, T have
another account alfo fent:me of the fame fort of Fifh ; I thal!
call it Balena roftrata, or Nebbe-hval, the Beaked Whale.
One of this uncommon fort, I am told, was taken at Eskevigen,
hear Fridrichfhald, in the year 1750, by fome of Col. Kolbiorn-
fen’s men: it was 26 feet in length, and a young one of fix feet.
long. was taken out of its body. The beak makes this Whale
differ moft from others, tho’ the whole thape is fomewhat
Abed At Sundmoer the Spring Whales are caught in great quantities by the fifhermen,
who row behind them, and by {triking with their oars, and making a noifé, drive the

creature to the fhore, and there he falls an eafy prey tothem. They yield a good
deal of train gil, and the flefh is not ill tafted. | a

different,

124

Hyidling.

Wonderful

Privilege,

Handftigler.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWV4Y.
different, as may be feen in the plate annexed, where it is
exactly delineated. Mr. Lucas Debes mentions, in his Defcrips

tion of Farroe, p. 162, a particular fort of Whale, called Dog-
lingen ; this is about 30 feet long, and is the eafieft caught of

all the fpecies ; for it will remain {till while a rope is run

through its eye-lid: thefe have the characters or diftinguifhing

marks of the Whale kind more ftrongly than any other. They
are drawn afhore by thefe ropes. The train oil extracted from
thefe Doglingers is {0 fine and fubtil, that the veflels it is put
into muft be made of wood of a very clofe contexture. If the
fat be eaten, it immediately tranfpires through the pores, and
turns the perfon’s linnen yellow *. wet sedi a
The Hvidling, Hvilling, called here Quitling, the Whiting,
Afellus Candidus, fo called from its white colour, is a middling
fizd Fifth, with a longifh body, and very fharp teeth. The
flefh of this Fith is very delicate and agreeable to the palate.
Whitings are moftly found where the ground 1s muddy, and
caught with a hook and line. Mr. Anderfon is of opinion, that

‘the Whiting is what the French properly call Morue, and is

caught in abundance on the banks of Newfoundland: he relates,
in his Defcription of Iceland, p. 85, that this greedy Fith has

by nature a certain property, which, perhaps, many gluttons of

the human fpecies would be glad of ; namely, that when he acci--
dentally happens to fwallow a piece of wood, or any thing he
cannot digeft, he can throw out his ftomach, turn it infide out,

‘and empty it in the water; and then fuck it in again to its

proper place. This Dionys confirms from his own obfervation,
in his Defcription des cotes de l’ Amerique Septentrionale, Vol. it.
p- 181. : aed dar aepistiile:

The Hundftigler, Hundftage, Aculeatus minor, the common
Stittleback, is one of the fmalleft of Fifh ; it moves about very

quick in the water, and is daily found near the ftorehoutes, but

it is not much regarded. God's providence, which is often
fignally difplayed in {mall things, difcovers itfelf here, by pro-

viding this little diminutive creature, which does not exceed two

* In the heads of thefe Doglingers is faid to be found alfo the aforefaid rval-hav,
or fperma-ceti, which is known to be a good healing medicine ; from whence I con-
clude it to have been one of thofe which the Bremer fifhermen caught fome few years
ago, and had never feen the like before; from which Theod, Hafizeus took occafion
to write his Difquifition on the Leviathan of Job, and Whale of Jonah. A French
tranflation of that Treatife was printed in the Bibliotheque Germanique, Lom. xv.
Art. iv. But perhaps this learned man is miftaken, as well as many others, In this
matter; for the Leviathan feems moft likely to be the Norvegian Sea-Snake, which
I thall treat of in the chapter of Sea-Monfters ; at leaft this appears moft probable,
and more agreeable to truth, than any thing yet advanced on this fubject.

inches

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY. 126°
inches in length, with two pretty long bones in proportion to its
bulk, which are very fharp, and pointed like {words ; with thefe,
which ftand ere&t on each fide, they defend themfelves from —
injuries. | Rl | aa

The Hyfle, by the Germans called Schelfifch, is very like the ¥ytt.
Whiting ; it differs only by fome fmall fcales on the ikin, which
makes the other more evidently of the Cod kind, tho’ they both |
belong to that genus. The Hyffen has alfo, by way of
diftinétion, two black fpots.on the back part of its neck: thefe
are caught, like Whitings, on muddy bottoms, in great quan-
tities; tho’ they are very feldom exported, unlefs it be for want
of better forts of Fith.. |

eR Oe Gb:

The Jifgalt, Vulpecula marina, the Sea Fox, is a Fith about Jifeat.
two feet long, fomething like a fmall Shark; it has a white
fhining fkin, and there is a pointed bone jutting out on his neck ;
the tail 1s very long and narrow, and endsin-a point. This Fifh
is caught only in deep water, and that but feldom, and by acci~
dent. Its very fat, particularly the liver, which yields a fort
of oil, that, they fay, heals all wounds, and preferves iron from
rufting better than any other oil, which makes it much valued.

The Karpe, Carpio, the Carp, 1s not a Fifh properly belonging Kupe. -
to Norway, and therefore very {carce, When they are imported
and put in our waters, their breed becomes gradually Jefs and
lefs. This alearned friend of mine has affured me from his own
experience. | |

The Karudfe is to.be found here, as in other places, in the Karner.
rivers and ponds; we have both the large yellow, and the {mall
darkifh kind *. bagel

‘The Kobbe, or Selhund, the Sea Calf, Phoca, is to be reckoned te
among{t the amphibious animals; for tho’ water is its proper
element, it always loves to be near the fhore, or the rocks and
cliffs; and farther up the North-fea they will lay themfelves on
the great flakes of ice, efpecially when they want to fleep or
reft themfelves. A Kobbe of the common fort is about five or
fix feet long. ‘The Steen-Kobberne is fomething lefs, and thofe
_ they call here Hav-Erken are a kind of large overgrown

* On a rock lying three miles beyond Loms Parfonage in Gulbrandfdalen, there are
found in a pond Karudfer of fuch a prodigious fize, that the right reverend bifhop
Herfleb has affured me, that the bones of fome of them, which he collected on his
vifitation-journey, brought to Chriftiana and fhewed there, were taken (by thofe that
were unacquainted with them) for bones of large Cod, In Store-Mios are found alfo
Karudfer as big as a large plate. — 7 - Oth

» Parr Il. Kk | * Saclhunnd!

126

Regulations
for their
fafety.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Selhund as“big as a horfe: fome are alfo called Klapmutzer,
becaufe they havea loofe skin on their head, which they can at
pleafure throw down over their eyes and f{nout : their eyes are
very fore and tender, and a flight blow on them will ftun the
Fith; their head is fomething like the head of a dog with cropt
ears, and the under-lip hanging down; about the nofe there
are feveral long and prickly hairs, and’ the body is covered all
over with fhort light grey hairs, and fpotted with black. Under
their fore-part there are two broad paws, and towards the tail
there are’ fomething like fins, and thefe they make ufe of to
crawl about with. They breed, and bring forth their young, on
land, in the fame manner as land animals do, and that twice a year,
and produce but one young one at a time. It is faid that in bad
weather, or in any danger, the mother will fwallow the young
one, and bring it up again. Mr. Derham, in his Phyfico Theolo-
gie, Lib iv. cap. il. p. 410, affirms this: but I fhall leave it unde-
cided: The penis of this creature is altogether bony. They
are moft commonly killed with fire-arms about our coaft, and fome
few with clubs, when the fifhermen find them afleep, and can
eet near enough to them. |

~ Our Bergen feaméen, who, every year, in the month of March,
fail from hence to Jan Mayen ifland, or to the eaftern fide of

Greenland, in large fhips, generally lie there till Midfammer-

day, then they go with their floops or boats, between the large
flakes of ice, upon which the Sea-Calves lie fleeping by hun-
dreds together, and deftroy the greateft part of them. In theix.
republic, they make this cautious regulation, that one of them

mutt ftand centinel, on thefe occafions, while the reft fleep, and

with a kind: of a noife like the hoarfe barking of a dog, he

wakes them, when either the white bear, who prowls about upon
the ice, or any other enemy, approaches. Thefe people there-

fore come upon them fuddenly, and with what they call

a. Dollftock, which has a thick iron ring and am iron {pike at
the end} give them a blow on the fnout, hard enough to make
fare of them; and prevent them from making their efcape 5 in
this manner they ferve every one they can come at. The fat
which covers the flefh is flayed off with the skin, and put up
in large casks, m order to make train oil. The skins, when they
have fprinkled fome falt upon them, to keep them from rotting,
are rolled up fingly. The catching of thefe is fometimes as pro-

fitable as fifhing for Whales; for a fhip may carry off 7 or 800

casks of fat in a feafon, and they will frequently take 2 or 300
ina day. What our fifhermen affirm, appears very ftrange,
Hankise . “ namely,

NATURALHISTORY off NORWAY.

namely, that. thefe creatures, in a flock of a thonfand together, —

will fteer their courfe as exaly as if they went by a compafs :
for when they perceive any noife, or are driven away froma
flake of ice, and are obliged to take fhelter any where elfe, if

the wind ferves, the feamen-have nothing elfe to do, but to fet .

fail after them ; and when they have only obferved what courfe
they took at their departure, they fteer exactly the fame point of
the compafs, and they may be fure of coming up with them,
upon the firft flake of ice they meet in their courle ; tho’ they
often faila very long way before they come up with them
A great number of Sea Calves are taken at Faroe, in the dark
and deep caverns of the rocks, which that ifland abounds with:
In what manner that is done, is very well related by the curious
Mr. Lucas Debes, in his Defeription of that Country, p. 151, &

127

catch them at

feq. “ They have many ways to catch them befides fhooting How they
i

them, In former times they ufed nets, but few do it now} Faroe.

“ but they hunt them with dogs, bred for that, purpofe. As
“¢ the fight of the Sea Calf is but imperfect, when awake, and
“© he is generally found afleep on the rocks, the dogs eafily
< approach them, againft the wind (that they may not fmell
< them) {tart upon them unawares, and feize them by the throat,
“ holding them faft till the mafter comes to their’ affiftance,
« and kills them. The third way is but feldom pra@ifed, and
“ is called there Paa Later. This word Later isnot a Latin, but
“ an old Faroesk word, and fignifies to pair together; for when
“ the Sea Calves pair themfelves, it is ufually called there
“< [uateres. ‘There are many vaft caverns under the rocks, clofe
“¢ to the fea, which are like vaulted cellars, the entrance to fome
“ of which is but fmall, like a door, that a narrow boat can but
“ juft get in; within them there is a ftagnating deep water, that
“ they may row in, but the farther they advance, the fhallower
« the water is, till at laft they find themfelves upon a dry
“ rock, which forms’a vaulted roof over their heads, and caufes
< an extraordinary echo when one fpeaks. All here is fo dark,
« that there is no diftinguifhing day from night. In thefe
< difmal caverns the Sea Calves take up their abode by hun-
“ dreds together, and therefore the inhabitants think they couple
‘¢ there; and thence call thofe places Later ; and to look out for
“© thofe places, to kill. the Sea Calves, they thence call Paa Later.
“ This Later is of two forts; the one is when the entrance is
“ wnder water, and is.therefore. inacceffible, and is called Kaufue
“ Later, becaufe the Sea Calf kaufuer, that is, ducks under
“ water, when he enters it: the other has the entrance above

Leeret ¢ water.

128

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

water. To get into thefe caves the peafants have a particular
fort of narrow boats. As they know the time when the young
ones are fat and full grown, they then fet out, and always have

two boats in company: one goes into the cavern, while the

other is left at the outfide of the entrance. They have a rope
of 80 fathoms or more faftened to thefe boats at each end, that
if the boat which is gone in fhould be filled with water, which
often happens, the other, upon a fignal given, may draw it
out, and fave the men. As the entrance is narrow, they have
boat-hooks to each boat, which they make ufe of to puth
themfelves in and out. They carry a light, which is a torch
as thick as a man’s arm, along with them, that they may fee
how to ftrike the Sea Calves: this light they hide in the
boat, that the Sea Calves may not fee the men till they get
upon the dry rock. When they have got in fo far that they
feel the ground with their boat-hook, then one of the men
jumps out of the boat into the water up to the neck, and he
carries a club to ftrike the animal with, which is called Kobbe-

Gaffe. Another man follows the former with a light in each

hand, which he is obliged to hold higher than his head, to
keep it above the water: then a third man follows with a Koll,

¢ or Kobbe-Gaffe alfo, in his hand, to flrike them with. When

the young ones, which lie on the ground, fee the light and
the men, they flrive to get into the water; as for the old
ones, they get upon their paws, and ftand upon their defence
with open mouths, efpecially the male, who will often make
the man give way; for when he ftrikes at him he will. lay
hold of the ftick with his teeth, and wrench it from him,
and throw it afide out of the man’s reach. In this cafe the
third man comes forward with his club, and ftrikes him on the
back part of his neck, and fo knocks him down. The females

are not fo bold, but always ftrive to get away if they can.

If they happen to hit the creatures right upon the head, they

are ftunn’d with the blow, and then they immediately cut
their throats. When they have deftroyed all the old ones,
then they fall upon the young, which ufually lie quiet a good
way from the water, and neither mind the men nor the lights.

They lie quite ftill, and fuffer themfelves to be killed without
refiftance. When the execution is over, they drag the dead
carcalles to the water, and faften them to the rope, by which
the boat without the entrance hawls them out; then they
row out with their boat; but if the water be fhallow, the
outer boat drags out the other, withthe men, &c. By this
bw, * | | “¢ method

_

NA TURALDHISTORY of VORW AY.

“¢ method they fometimes take a greatymany, to the number of
“ fifty or fixty, in one. cave. The old ones are often as big as
“ an ox, and fo very fat, that there 1s fometimes three Vaager *
“ taken out of one. The hide they ufe for fhoes ; the flefh they
“‘ eat, and the fat is melted for train-oil ; and part of them they
“ pickle and eat.” So far L. Debes.

The Kollie, is a fmall Fifth; of a reddifh colour, fix inches Kollie

long; with large eyes, fimeofcales,:and wery delicate flefh. The
roe is reckoned particularly: well tafted3 they angle for it in
frefh water. . ‘ath

P29 |

The Kolmund, or, more properly, Kulmund, or Kulle Mule, xotmung,

which nameas given them. becaufe their mouth and throat are coal-
blacic, is otherwife called Guld Lax,or Golden Salmon, becaufe it is
fhaped like a Salmon, though the head ‘is rather rounder, and the
Fifh is more tapering towards the tail: the flesh is white, and

taftes like that of a Pearch>:. they angle for them as for the |

Salmon, but with as they do not cateh any great number.

The Knurhanelitem, or Reinald, the Gurnard; the former xKouthane.

name it has from its being heard to grumble for half an hour after
it is drawn outof the water. Its flefh taftes fomewhat like Mackrel,
and I think, tho’ I am not certain; that it is the fame Fith which
they call Aaskiar-Niot, at Sundmoer ; of which I have. treated
before. If it be the fame, it has three names in one. language.
Thofe correfpondents that gave me an account of this Fifth, under
the name of Knurhane, defcribe it to be twelve inches long, with
a head almoft like a Pearch, a round body, and the skin rough
and prickly ; they fay it may be ufed to polifh wood, or even
metals: of this particular my Sundmoerske correfpondents take
no notice. They are caught with a hook and line. ri

The Krokle, is a {mall frefh-water Fith, and but little known, Krokle.

It is hardly four inches long, but is very abundant in fome
places, particularly in the Lake Tyrefiord, on Ringerige: they are
feen there m heaps, and are driven afhore by the Fith of prey,
and eafily caught in fmall nets: they are well-tafted.

The Kullebars, is a {mall, delicate, frefh-water Fifth, well-known Kullebars.

in Denmark. —

* A Vaag in this country is 36 pounds avoirdupoize weight.

Parr I. Lt “day ote sere

130

Lake.

Lange.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

oe
Cor AePVT EeR Vio

A Continuation of the Former, ‘concerning FISH and. |
bstiee RoE OST Eon

Sect. I. Of Ling, Salmon, the Piper, and others. Sect. 1. Of Mackrel, the

_ Porpeffe, and others. Of the Narubal, Lamprey, Salmon-trout, and others.
Secr. III. Lhe Horfe-Mackrel, and others. Sect. IV. Of the Razor-fifp,
the Oftracion, and the Thornback. Sect. V. Of the Sea-Albuler, the Herring, -
the lburnus, the Gattorngive. Sect. VI. Of the. Wolf-fifh, the Frog-
Jifo,. or Sea-devil, the Sturgeon, and Sword-fyfh. Sect. VIL. Of the Cod,
she others. Sect. VII, Of the Walrufi; or Seaborfe, the Sea-Scorpion, and
OLDers. . |

8B, CT. T,

T HE Lake, or Lake-fild , the Marena, or Frefh-water Herring,

| a frefh-water Fifh, of which great numbers are caught
in the lake Store-mios, on Hedemarken. The peafants there-
about dry and export them. ‘They are fhaped almoft like a Her-
ring, but are not quite fo large, nor fo fat, and well tafted ; and,
indeed, are not much regarded by thofe who have variety of other
Fifh. I make-no doubt but this Fifh is the fame with that which
Schonveld calls Marene. This author fays they are found in great
quantities inthe Holftein lake, near Ploen, and in the Mecklenburg
dominions, near Sverin: “ Harengo omnibus fere partibus refpon-
“ det, pinnis, branchiarum incifione ampliore, dorfi {ubnigro, la-
terum argenteo colore & fquamis facile deciduis.. Sed minor
_eftaliquando, duorum ut plurimum palmorum longitudinis, ple-
‘¢ niore item carne duriore & friabiliore, ventre molli non ferrato,
‘¢ nifi quod in {fcallenfi lacu marenas cubitales capi certum eft,”
Willoughby, Lib. iv. cap. 10, p. 229. :
The Lange, Ling, or the Long Cod-fifh, a Sea-fifh, fo called
from his length, which may be fix feet at leaft. It would be like
an Eel, if it was not fo thick towards the head, which makes it
look more like a long and narrow Cod. It has a fort of a long
fin, running all along the middle of the back. The {kin is
{mooth, and of a fhining light colour; the flefh 1s i ag
an

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY

and reckoned the moft delicate of the whole kind. It is {ent
to many parts of Europe, falted, and dry’d. It is brought to
Bergen, where there is a great demand for it by foreign mer-
chants *, : ae | |

The Dutch ufe a great deal of it fo fhips provifion at long |

voyages, becaufe it will keep longer than any other Fith in hot
countries, when it has been well cur’d, and it then taftes better
than when it is frefh. -'The Ling ufually comes towards the Shore
along with the Spring Herrings, or foon after them, in great fhoals:
they are catch’d with a ftrong hook and line. [he chief place
for catching them with us is on the Storeggen, or the long Sand-
bank, mentioned above, that ftretches itfelf along the coaft. To
this place the fifhermen go in the midft of Summer, to fith for
Ling and Turbot, twelve or fixteen miles from the main land.

The Lax, Salmon, Salme, a well-known, confiderably large, Lax.

and excellent Fifh, has bright filver feales, but the fleth is red.
It is allowed by all to be one of the moft delicious and beft-tafted
Fifh ; however, the phyficians do not reckon it wholfom, when it
is eaten frefh, in too great a quantity. |
As the Salmon is not fond of biting at a bait, and there is {el
-dom any Fifh found in its belly, fome are inclined to think that
(as it is faid of the Herrings) ‘it lives upon water alone, and that
this renders its flefh fo delicate: but this opinion is refuted by
Willoughby, Lib. iv. §. rz, p- 192. He fays, « Mr. Johnfon
affures me that the Salmon is fond of fine ted worms, when they
are thrown into the water ; but I fhall not determine this point},
I thall only obferve, that'as the Lord of nature, who has created
nothing in vain, has given the Salmon good teeth, we may con-
clude the former opinion is without foundation ; for it were abfurd
to fay they were given them only for weapons, to defend them-
felves againft Fith of prey. I am to obferve alfo, that one of my
corre{pondents affirms, that he has found final] Herrings in a Sal-
mon’s belly : nay, tho’ the Salmon is but feldom difpofed to bite
at the hook, yet he will fometimes do it.” |
Willoughby, whom I quoted above, alfo confutes Gefner’s
opinion, concerning the Salmon’s breeding in the fea: he thinks
that is done in frefh water, from whence they afterwards go to the

13Y

Nourifhment,

fea: but in this he is certainly miftaken. The Salmon unqueftion=Breeding-

ably breeds in the fea, tho’ it is not entirely to be deny’d but?"

' * The quantity of this Fith that is taken is very inconG
fome others; bue yet there was exported, in the year 1752,
or 720,000 averdupoife.

T Mr. Ewen Meldal, chaplain at Haram in this diocefe,
vations, lately affured me, that he has found {mall worms i

derable in proportion to
45,000 lifp-pound weight,

has, amoneft other obfer-
n the Salmon’s belly.

that

132 NATURAL HISTORY of VORVTVAY.
that they may fometimes’ breed in rivers alfo, for they are found
in the midft of Germany, and upper parts of the Rhine, about
Bafel ; but we are very well affured that the Salmon chiefly ejeds
its roe’at the mouths of rivers, where they empty themfelves into
the fea, or a little way beyond, in the falt water, in this manner:
they bend themfelves crooked, in order to eject the roe at an aper-
ture under the belly, and, in the mean time, they ftick their
heads down in the fand, that they may have the more ftrength,
The male comes prefently after, to keep off other Fifth from de-
vouring the roe, and he there bends his head towards the tail, and
ejects his {perm upon the roe. The Cod, Herring, and other
Fifh that have roes, probably breed in the fame manner 5 but as
that is done in deeper water, it is not fo eafily obferved as in the
Salmon. - Pe

The milt, which is alfo called the milt of other Fithes, is
enclofed ina collection of many fmall and fine veficules, out of
which that whitilh fluid is fqueezed; but the male Salmon’s
milt is in one mafs, and looks like liver. They fay the Salmon
is fix years in growing to its full fize, and that he is then five
feet long, and weighs from twenty-five to fifty pounds. In the
rivers of Mandals and Tannefiord are found the fatteft and beft
about the whole Norway coaft, but they are found alfo in the ~
Spring almoft every where. They are in great plenty from the
middle of April to the middle of July, at which time they come
in fhoals, and feek the rivers, partly to refrefh themfelves in frefh
water, and partly to rub, or wath off, in the ftrong currents, and
deep water-falls, a kind of greenifh vermin, called Salmon-lice, ©

‘that get in between their fins, and plague them in the Spring

| feafon. | i

God's provi: T'hefe infets are wifely defigned by the Great Creator, to drive

Ta this rich and valuable Fith, as it were, into the hands of man-
rhe methoa Kind, who ufe feveral arts to catch them. We have, within thefe

- of catching it. fay, years, in thefe parts, begun to catch them with a kind of large

net, fet with many bends and angles ; but this method often mif-
carries, though fometimes it fucceeds, and they will take two or
three hundred at a time. The old and common way is, to catch
them in a net, {pread at the mouth of a river, which falls with a
{trong current into the fea, and is therefore haunted by the Sal-
mon for the purpofes above-mentioned: They come thither on
feeing the rapidity of the water, and the white foam ; but as
thefe opportunities are not every where to be met with, they allure
the Fith by art, and decoy him into their hands, by making a
~ part of the rock white. -They fay the Salmon has a great ae
ion

Breed.

“NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

fron to any thing red ; fo that the fitherrhen that watch this Fith
muft never wear jackets nor caps of that colour: a certain per-
fon here in Sundfiord for that reafon took all the red tiles off

from the top of his houfe, which is juft by the water fide, and /

covered it with blueones. They avoid all kind of carrion, and if
by accident, or by the malice of ill neighbours, there be any
fuch thing thrown into the places where they fifth for them,
they throw a lighted torch into the place.: but they fuper-
ftitioufly affirm, that it muft be lighted by the rubbing of two
piéces of wood together till they take fire; but this is a vulgar
charm. There conflantly fland two men by the Salmon nets in
the Spring to watch them ; the one in a boat, or, which is better,
on a high poft, to obferve when the fhoals of Salmon come to
the net ; on which he calls out to the other, who remains on
the fhore, holding a rope that is faftened to the net. On the
frgnal given, he draws the net clofe with the rope, fo that
the Salmon. cannot get out again. Sometimes by this means
they will take twenty or thirty at a time ; and even fometimes
fuch a prodigious number, that they muft let fome feores out
to prevent their net from breaking. | |
~ The Salmon is a very ftrone Fifth: fifhermen have affured me,
that one of them has been able to pull a man down when he
has ftuck him with his Salmon f{pear, which is a long pole, with
three iron teeth at the end, like a trident. This Salmon-f{pear
is ufed in another method of fifhing; namely, where they have
built what they call the Lax-Kar, a-crofs a river. This is com-
pofed of a number of ftakes driven into the bottom of the river,
pretty clofe together, between which they fwim in fhoals, and
out of eagernefs to get higher up the ftream, they frequently
flick faft there, till the filhermen come and ftick them with the
fpear. I have feen them catch twelve in lefs than half an hour in
this manner. The eagernefsof thefe Fith ‘to get a great way up
the rivers, may be known, fir by the following circumftance;
for where the water is low, and the fand-banks lie but juft under
its furface, fo that they cannot make their way along on their
belly, they will throw themfelves flat on one fide, and in that
pofture work themfelves ‘through till they reach deeper water.
We {ee it alfo by their high and violent leaps againft the ftream,
where there are falls of water fromthe rocks; for if they meet
with a cafcade of four ‘or five feet high, they are not’ deterred
from purfuing their courfe, but will raife themfelves upright,
and leap with fuch violence, that they furmount this obftacle.
Hence poffibly its Latin name Salmo is derived from Salio, to

Parr II. Mm 3 leap.

133,

134

Dangerous
filhing.

Lodde.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

leap. There is a ftrange and hazardous way of catching Salmon
practifed in the diocefe of Chriftianfand, near that famous bridge
a-crofs the river Mandal, called Biellands-Broe, which 1s built

upon piles, refting on two high and fteep rocks, and 1s reckoned

one of the moft curious pieces of architeCture in this country :
it is 36 feet above the common furface of the water, tho’ fome-
times it rifes fo high as to touch the bridge, when the {now melts
fuddenly from the rocks. A little way to the north of this:
bridge, near a farm-houfe called Fofs, this river falls from the
top of a high rock, which projets out, with rugged ftones on
each fide, and deep caves at the bottom: the violence of the
fall makes the water foam and play up like a fountain. Into
thefe deep caverns, juft by the cafcade, do thele people venture
themfelves, on a float made of pieces of timber, tied together
with twigs. If the float breaks their lives are at ftake ; for they
muft fall into the ftream, which carries them away with an
amazing violence. This happens fometimes, and they have been
taken up half dead, ata confiderable diftance from the place.

_ Upon thefe rafts they enter the hollow places of the rock, in

which the Salmon loves to take fhelter. When they are driven out
by the fifhermen, they crowd in great numbers to the entrance
of the cave, and are taken there. The Salmon is fatteft in
Spring, but is lighter and looks paler if caught after Midfummer.:
Many of the peafants that live in the provinces bordering on the
fea, make.a confiderable advantage of the Salmon-fithery, and
even clear more than their taxes by it. There is annually
exported a vaft quantity of them, fome dried in the {moak,
and fome pickled, in barrels, to Bremen, Holland, Flanders and
France. It has been known, that in one day more than 2000
freth Salmons have been brought into Bergen. |

The Lodde, or Stinking-Fifh, is a Sea-Fith, .in fhape fome-
what like a Herring, but not eatable, tho’ ’tis extremely fat. When
they are fometimes thrown up on fhore in ftormy weather, by
the violence of the currents, the goats will eat them; but their
Heth will be infected with fuch a difagreeable {mell and tafte,
that they cannot be afterwards eaten. The verfes that Mr. Peter
Dafs quotes, p. 47, in his Defcription of Nordland, in which
place alone they feem to be known, reprefent the Lodde as a very
mifchievous Fifh, which entices others of more value away with
him from the fhore, and may be looked. upon as a nufance to

the country. | TR

‘* Bort

NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY.

“Bort Lodde med al din forgiftige ftank

Al Verden foronfker dig alfkens fkavank
Du eft os et riis og en {vobe: rad

Ret faafom en hore, der tragter at flye,

Saa rommer ungdommen med hende af bye.
Som bukke med gederne lobe, &Xc.”

The fenfe of which lines is this :

Away Lodde with thy poifonous ftench,

_ All the world wifhes thee pain and torment ;

‘Thou art to us a rod and a fcourge,

Thou art as a whore pretending to fly,

In order to draw the unwary youth away with her out of town.

‘They run after her, like the wanton he-goats after the fe-
males, &c. : :

The Lyr or Lyffe, the Piper, a middle-fized Sea-fifh, fome- tr.

thing like the Trout kind in fhape, tho’ fmaller. The fcales
alfo are lefs, and the flefh is excellent. Some look upon this Fith
to be nearly allied to the Salmon; and the roe is reckoned a
very great delicacy. They are caught with a net, but not in
any great quantity. Aldrovand, Lib. ii. c. vii. fpeaks of a Fith

in the Mediterranean by the name of Lyra, whofe head is fhaped

like a harp, but whether that belongs to this clafs I do not
know.

SECT. IL.

135

The Mackarel, Scomber, a well known Fith, of about a foot Mackare

long, with beautiful blue and green ftripes on its {mooth {hining
fkin: the flefh is like the Herririg’s, but without that {trong
flavour ; and has not fo many fmall bones. It is very white,
and agreeable to thofe who can digeft their fat; but is not
reckoned very wholefome by the phyficians. When they firft
appear with us in the Spring they are very lean, but they grow
fatter towards the Summer. The Mackarel is an unfteady and

uncertain Fifh; for they go in great fhoals from one place to ~
another, and drive the Herrings before them, which are terrified -

at their appearance. They are eafily caught with hooks and
lines, and in nets in great numbers. They are pickled, and
exported ; but what is got by them hardly makes amends for
the lofs of the Herrings which are driven away by them. They
are exceflive greedy and voracious, like the Shark kind; and, like
| | them,

136

Melancholy
accident. |

Marfvin.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.

them, are very fond of human flefh. It is faid, that if a
naked man fwimming in the fea happens to fall in with a fhoal
of Mackarel, they will devour him im an inftant. It happened
very lately, that a failor, who belonged to a fhip in Laurkulen
harbour, who went into the water to wafh himfelf, was all on a
fudden miffed, to the furprize of his fhip mates: in two minutes
time he rofe to the furface of the water all over bloody, and vaft
numbers of Mackarel faftened upon him, which they could hardly
force to quit their hold ; and when they did it was too late, for the
poor creature, without doubt, expired in great agonies. Willoughby
obferves, Lib iv. §. vi. p. ror, that this Fifh has no air-bladder
under the back ; this is fo much the more remarkable, becaufe,
as has been faid already, they fwim extreamly quick. His |
words are, “* Ex fcombris olim Garum conficiebatur lauda-
tifimum.”’ Plin. Lib. xxxi. c. 8. “ Garum ex {eombris & coliis
apud Byzantinos fieri folere nunc dierum intelligo, referente Bel-
lonio.”” This Garum is what the Italians call Caviar, otherwife
made of Sturgeon’s roe. Thefe Fifh are found in the waters
near Affow, and the Caviar is at a great expence tran{ported
from Ruflia to Italy. It is afferted, however, that the roe of
Mackarel is ufed for Caviar in the Mediterranean, according to the
teftimony above cited. If this be true, why might it not be
ufed here for the fame purpofe, rather than thrown away, as it
conftantly is in many places, where they catch them in abundance,
and pickle them as we do Herrings. ‘The method of making
Caviar may be comprifed in a few words: they wafh off all the
blood and flime from the roe with vinegar, and take away the
finews and fkins that are about it; then they fpread it for a little
time to dry: after this they falt it, and hang it up ina net, that
the moifture may drop from it. When all this is done, they lay
it in a fieve or cullendar, till it is thoroughly dry, and fit for ule.
The Italians pay a very great price for this delicacy. _ Ne

The Marfvin, or Porpeffe, which is called here Nife, and alfo
Tumler, the Tumbler, becaufe it is always feen rolling up and
down, is a fat Fith, about feven feet long, fhaped like a {mall
Whale, excepting the tail, which is broad, and does not ftand
horizontally like that of the Whale. Its mouth is like the fnout
of a hog, but fhort, and its eyes {mall: it has a great many teeth,
and thofe very fharp. The tongue is thick and round, and fo
long that it hangs out of its mouth. Its fkin is very thin,
fmooth, and of a black colour; and feels as hard as bone. Under
this {kin lies the fat about two inches thick, out of which they
melt frain oil. The flefh is not regarded, unlefs it be by the

poorer

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW4AY,

poorer fort of people, who pickle it, ‘The Scots eat it, and look
upon it as a very good difh; and in. North America it is faid the
French make faufages of it. They breed like the Shark and

Whale, being of the viviparous kind. It is affirmed that they

breed every month, and one of my correfpondents is of this
opinion ; but I dare not affert this for a certainty, unlefs I could
meet with farther confirmation. They are fometimes fhot ; and
are alfo caught, when they run into narrow creeks, with the Summer
Herrings: for this purpofe the fifhermen have a very {trong net ;
this they fpread over the mouth of the creek where the water
runs out, which 1s fo open, that they work their head through,
and then, like the {maller Fifh, they ftick faft by the gills.

It is faid the Porpeffe are fond of the human fpecies, and feek
their company: but perhaps what gave rife to this Opinion is
their being fond of following boats and fhips in the Mediterra-
nean, where they are cailed Dolphins, and are feen (as well as
on the coaft of Norway) in great numbers. There they alfo
imagine that this animal is fond of mufic, and may be en{nared
by means of it. It is certain that it is not one of the mute Fithes,

for fometimes they make a noife like the cries of a human crea-

ture. The Italians alfo call this Fifth Marfvine Cacciatore de
Mare, becaufe they are very voracious, purfuing all kinds of {mall
Fifh, Gafpar Schottus, who in his Phyfica Curiofa, Lib. x. cap.
12. p. 1085. calls this the King of Fifhes, and relates from Atli-
an and other ancient writers, fome remarkable ftories concerning
it; and thefe, if we fuppofe them true, confirm their affeCtion for
the human-kind, as obferyed before *, |
Marulke. See Ulke.

name, becaufe of its fize, which is {maller,
oS E -CeTV--HI.

137

"s Marulke.
Mort. See Sey: for it is of that kind, tho’ it has a different Mon.

The Narhval, Unicornu Marinum, the Unicorn Fifth, is, like Narhval.

the former, of the Whale kind; but, as far as I have been able
to learn, this fpecies is feldom found on the coaft of Norway :
farther up the North fea, particularly along the Greenland coaft,
it is not uncommon. The anonymous author of a letter concern-
ing the Whale-fithery, prefix’d to the Danith tran{flation of Peirere’s
Account of Iceland, defcribes this Fifth in thefe words: “ The
Narwhel’s body is of the bignefs of a large horfe}+; it has four

* Befide the Porpeffe, there is another of the Whale kind, called Dolphin ; and alfo

a {mall Fifth of a very, different kind. - po bbl
_ 7 It muft have been a young one ; for according to the various accounts that are to
be ie in Willoughby’s Hitt. Pifc. Append. p. 12, others have feen them 43 OF 44
feet long. ey thks

Part II. . Na fins,

138

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

fins, and a whitifh:skin, with black fpots: this is thick, and fit
to cover trunks and portmanteaus. What diftinguifhes the Nor-

_.whal from other fpecies, is a long and pointed horn, of ten feet

Nebbe-fild.

or more in length, projecting from his head, with which he
wounds other Fifth.” He adds, that he has feen them, though

' they are fcarce, and difficult to be taken. I had two of thefe

horns in my cabinet, but made prefents of them to my friends,
who are admirers of natural curiofities. Thefe were very much
valued when they were thought to be the horn of an imaginary
land-animal, called the Unicorn ; but that miftake has fince been
cleared up, by the difcovery of this Fifh, and the former is only
confidered as a chimera; tho’, on the contrary, one might pre-
fume that there is fuch a creature, from the analogy between land
and fea animals. ‘* Nuperis annis ex Groenlandia navibus
fuis onuftis, ampliffimus Vir Henricus Muller, Queftor Regius &
Confiliarius, aecepit copiam dentium balene quam Narhval vocant,
feu unicornua borealia, multa & grandia, quorum aliqua trinm ul-
narum longitudinem «quabant,” fays Th. Bartholin. in AGtis Med.
Anno 1673, Obf. 31. He has alfo written a particular account of
it; and, cap. xv. difeovers the fraud which the traders formerly

practifed, by pretending, that this Whale’s horn was the horn of

a land-animal. | | |
The many large horas which were brought from Greenland at

that time, he fays, were ufed as materials towards compleating -

the magnificent throne, which is now to be feen in the eaftle of
Rofenberg at Copenhagen. © This author, as well as Ol. Wormius,
Schonveldius, and Jacobzus, afcribes a medicinal virtue to this
horn, tho’ not fo great as imagined by fome others; for at one
time it was efteemed to be almoft as valuable as Gold. See th
latter part of p. 14 of that author’s Mus Regium *, 1m
The Nebbe-fild, the Needle-fith, is alfo called Siil,and Acus Ma-=
riz, Mary’s Needle, probably from its long and narrow fhape ; for I
have feen fome eighteen inches long, and their bodies not thicker
than a large quill. Their tail, which is almoft half their length, is as
fmall as a ftraw, and at the end it tapers away to a mere thread.
The head, like the reft of the body, is not round, but angular,
and the mouth is like the beak of a fowl, though at the extre-
mity it is raifed a little, fo as to makea flat blunt {mout. They
breed and are commonly found in the wet fand, on the edges
of the fhore, and not abfolutely in the water. They are gene-

yally dug up with a fpade, and made ufe of as a bait to catch

other Fith, but otherwife are not regarded in thefe parts. In

' * This, tho’ called a horn, is truly a tooth of this Fifh, of a fingular aie
the

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

the Mediterranean, according to Gefner’s account, p.9, they
pickle and eat them, accounting them very delicate for the table 3
and in Nordland they eat them broil’d. |
The Negen Ogen, the Lamprey, otherwife called the Steen- x

fue, or Stone-fucker, is taken, according to Undalini’s account,
in Store Mios, and other frefh waters, particularly in the rivers
of Mandal and Undal, where they are found as thick as a man’s
wrift, though but two feet long, but it is not look’d upon here (as
in foreign countries) as a well-tafted, or even as an eatable Fith.
“* Murena ob venenofam qualitatem non immerito fufpeda, quin &
mandentibus (ut re&e Aldrovandus) fuis ariftis plurimum faftidii

pasit ;” fays Willoughby, p. ro4. They are often feen to jamp againtt
the ftream like a Salmon, in order to get up the rivers, and with
their fharp teeth they will lay hold of the rock: hence this Fith
has its Norvegian name, viz. Steen-fue. ;

The Orte, or Oret, the Salmon-trout, Tratta Taurina, is caught ote.
both in frefh and falt water, like the Salmon, and is of the fame
genus: it is much like the {mall Salmon, which we call here
‘Tart, excepting that the head is thicker and fhorter, and the
body, near the tail, is broader, and of a dark colour ; but it is
neither fo fat, or well-tafted. . It is caught in nets, and generally.
where the rivers empty themfelves into the fea *, ?

it is a very common Fifh in the fresh lakes and rivers, but
many of them are fubje& to a fort of difeafe, fo that they cannot
be eaten. In that cafe their head grows very large, and the body’
is emaciated ; and in their intrails there are found pimples, re-
fembling millet-feeds. This diftemper is aferibed here to the
faw-duft that falls into the rivers, on which there are mills for
fawing timber. Others are of opinion that the roe, which is very
large in proportion to their fize, is corrupted, for want of be-
ing ejected in proper time, and occafions this diftemper: but
{ cannot comprehend what should prevent them from doing it,
unlefs it be the want of a convenient place, according to their

7

egen Ogen.

* Itis furprizing, that on the top of the rock Varne-fet, and many other high places
in Fiaranger, they catch this Fith in {mall ftagnant waters, or ponds, which, by their
high fituation, do not feem to have any communication with any other ponds or rivers.
Can it be fuppofed that thofe Fith have been there fince the flood, or that birds of prey
have carried this fpawn, or young fry, up there? Or is it poffible that the fog,

mentioned in chap. i. carried them up, and dropped them in thofe ponds; as the

heavy clouds are faid totake up Herrings out of the fea, and to drop them on the

rocks in Faroe? If not, then one muft imagine that. thofe watets, in-fuch a hich fta-
tion, by means of fubterranean paffages, have communication with other waters, as it is
to be concluded that the frefh water lake; Lillé-mios, in Valders, has a communication
with the ocean, becaufe they find Cod init, Herman Rugge, minifter of Slire, ob-

ferves, the higher thofe pondsare in the rocks, the larger and fatter are the Fith they
contain.

¢

natural

146)

Piir.

puur.

Quabbe.

Queite.

Raate.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORIAY.

natural methed of dropping it: this feems, indeed, confirmed
to be the caufe by the obfervations of feveral perfons ; for they
are frequently feen to dig, with the motion of their tail, feveral
holes in fand or clay under a rock, where they eje& their roe in
common, and then roll a ftone upon it to preferve it. “el
The fame is faid of fome others of this genus, particularly of -
the River-Trout. ‘¢ Trutte fluviatiles circa fefta natalitia turma-
tim congregantur. Scrobes caudis excavant, feque o€todecim circi- |
ter in unum collocantes, inibi feetificant, fupra” foeturam lapides
advolvunt.” Aloyf. Com. Marfili Danub. Panon. Tom. iv. p. 78.
Amongft Salmon-Trout are a certain fort of Fifth called here
Roer; they have this name, becaufe they differ from the others
in the colour of their fins, which are of a more lively red.
They are reckoned wholefomer than the Salmon-Trout,-and, it is
faid, are not fubje& to the diftemper above mentioned. — |
The Pur, the Trachurus, or Horfe-Mackarel, is, in appearance,
a {mall Mackarel, and it muft either be the young, or a particular
fort of the fame tribe; but which I cannot determine. It is
much lefs and leaner than the common Mackarel; and, without

‘doubt, it is the Fifh which Willoughby, after Aldrovandus and

Bellonius, has called the Trachurus. His account of it is this:
‘“¢ Scombros colore, figura & fapore refert, ut ree Bellonius,
unde & Maquereau baftard, i. e. Scombrus fpurius Gallis dicitur.
Verum minor eft quam feomber, corpore minus fpilfo rotundoque
& paululum compreffo.” Lib. iv. cap. 12. p. 290. |

The Puur, the Dove, a fmall frefh-water Fifh: I have never
feen it in the rivers near Bergen; but it is found in thofe of
Nordland. It looks almoft like a Herring, and is very well
tafted.

Quabbe. See Aale-Quabbe.

Queite. See Helle-flynder.

SE Orr. ry

The Raate, or, as it may be called, the Sea-Karudfe, as alfo
the Berggylten, the Sea-Carp; for betwixt the Karudfen, par-
ticularly the flat and light brown kind, and the Raate, in fize,
fhape, fcales, and every thing, there appears outwardly very lit-
tle differences. but in the tafte there is a great deal; for the

fleth of this is a great deal coarfer, tho’ it does not want for fat. -

Indeed if one takes particular notice they may be diftinguifhed ;
for, as the Hyffen differs from the Whiting, by two black {pots
on the back part of the neck, fo has this Fifh a black fpot on
each fide of the tail. . | ,
e

NATURALHISTORY of VORWAY.

tat

Phe: Rage-Kniv, Novacula, the. Razor-fifh. This-is a new Rege-Knwv.

name, hitherto not known; but, according to the privilege that
all natural hiftorians take to givé names to things that till then
had none, I will venture to give a name to a kind of Fifh but
feldom found here, which, according to the figure, appears to be
fomething like the blade of a razor, and hardly a fpan long:
it has a thin and flat body; the back, from the head down to
the tail, which is very fmall, is full of fharp fins or prickles.

There are others under the belly alfo, but much fewer ; and two

fmall ones under the head, which in this Fifth feems pretty
broad, tho’ but {mall in proportion to the mouth and eyes,
which are large. Ihave never feen any of them frefh, and my
correfpondents in the fifhing parts of Norway entirely omit

them; I cannot, therefore, give any certain account of their -

colour, or whether they have feales, for I do not perceive any
on the dry’d fample that I have before me: however, the fcales
may be dried in fo as not to be diftinguifhed from the skin.
If this Fifh has feales, then, in my opinion, it is the fame as
Rondelet, p. 741, calls, after Pliny’s authority, Novacula, or
the Razor-fith. As thefe agree in almoft every particular, I
have taken the liberty to name our Norvegian Fith after thofe
that are known in the Mediterranean. They are found there
in great numbers, and are reckon’d both wholefome and well
tafted. | |

The Rod-Fisk, called alfo Cluer, is a middle-fized Fifh, and a
native of the ocean: in appearance ‘tis much like a Carp, but it
has large fcales, and thofe of a very deep red colour: the eye
- is remarkably large, and near the fins, both on the back and the
belly, there are fome large and fharp pointed bones. The flefh
of this is hard and pretty fat. It is caught with a hook and line
in deep water at all feafons of the year. _

Rod-Fiffé.

The Rogn-Kal * and Rogn-Kexe are the male and female of Rogn Kat.

the fame kind; the Square-fifh, or Oftracion. This is a remark-
able falt-water Fifh: ’tis feldom much above a foot long, but
very broad, thick and clumfy. What is properly the body of
this Fith is fmall; all the reft confifts of a thick fhell of a
cartilaginous or griftly nature, which makes it appear fhrivelled
and rough. This fhell, or cartilage, is covered with a reddifh
skin. There are feveral round bony knobs, difpofed longitudi-
nally in three rows, on the outfide of it. The head is, like
the body, thick and clumfy ; the mouth has a fort of a ring

* Bellonius, Aldrovandus, Wormius, Clufius, and others, call this Fifh Oftracion,
but don’t feem to have any right knowledge of it. |

> Parr HL. } Oo en

es

Rokke.

NATURAL HISTORY >of VWORWAY.

on each fide, and looks like a crefcent. The tail is quite even
at the end, and refembles a birch broom cut tranfverfly ; along
the back runs a fmall undulated ridge, and under the belly is a
piece of foft fpungy excrefcence, with which it fticks faft to the
rocks like a {nail ; and it requires fome ftrength to get it loofe.
The female, or Rogn-Rexe, is fomething larger than the Rogn-
Kalen, or male, and of a blue colour. They eject their fpawn
in large quantities about Whitfuntide: hence the. Fith has Its
Norvegian name. The fatter it is the more it approaches to a
red colour, being otherwife greenifh. T'he body, as I obferved
before, is but fmall, and, as I am informed, very delicate. food,
for I have never tafted it. The Otter is very fond of this Fith,
and it often falls a prey to him. As the Rogn-Kallen never bites
at any bait, and loves deep water, it is feldom caught but by
accident in the Cod or Salmon nets. When they are feen
{wimming near the furface of the water the fifhermen often give
them a blow on the neck with their oar, and fo take them ; but
they are only ufed as a bait for other Fith, particularly the
Turbot, who is very eager after them. . |
Rokke, Rokke-filk, the Thornback, Raia Clavata, in Norway
called Skate. "Tis a Sea-fifh of an extraordinary fhape, and not
unknown in Denmark, tho” it feems to differ a little from
ours *; for there are various forts, all which, or moft of them,
are defcribed by Willoughby, Lib. iii. c. vii. p. 68, & fequ.
The Norvegian Skate in body is, like a large Flounder, quite
flat, with a fharp head: it is white under the belly, and
of a darkifh brown on the back; and. has prickles and fmall
circles on the fkin. There are feveral broad fins projecting out
on each fide of this Fifh, like wings, larger than its whole body.

But what is moft remarkable, is a roundifh tail, of about two

foot long, full of angular knobs. The mouth is not placed, as
in other Fifhes, in the head, but underneath, fomething like that

of the Shark; befides, it has this in common with that Fith,

namely, that 1t has no bones, but is of the cartilaginous kind.
It has pretty large eggs, from which its young are produced at
a proper time. The liver is large and fat, and yields a good
deal. of train oil, which is the chief thing the fifhermen catch it
for: 1t 13 feldom eaten here, tho’ fome people firft dry, and then
export them. They are generally caught with a hook and
Hinel ) SacuS ae Pub Wig tr’

-* Karum aliz funt leves, alie afpere. Levium alice ftellate, aliz non. A fpera-

rum alize magis alia minus tales. Magnitudine inter fe differunt, Bicubitales alj-

quando vidit Salvianus. Gafp. Schott. Phyf. curiofa, Lib. x. c. 40. : )
. ; i 7¥ Ts) E C il.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
Selhund. See Kobbe. . |

143

Selhund.

The Sey, which we in Denmark call Graafey, is very like the sey.

Lyr before defcribed: the head is rather more pointed, and the
body f{maller ; and ’tis alfo covered with fine feales; The fleth
is coarfer than the Cod’s, and is not eaten, except by the peafants
and fervants. While they are young they are called Mort, and
are feen playing about the water in prodigious numbers, where
they. ferve for the food and nourifhment of other Fith. When
they are fomewhat older they are called Pale, and are tolerably
well tafted: as they grow {till larger we give them the name
of Sey-Ofs; and laftly, when they are full grown we call them
Summer-Sey. Then they come in with the Summer Herrings,
and purfue them along with the Whale, and other Fith of prey.
Thefe laft have not a greater enemy and perfecutor than the
Summer-Sey. They alfo are harraffed and purfued by the Whale ;

but when he cannot get any farther becaufe of the fhallows, —

thefe {maller devourers continue the purfuit, and drive the
Herrings before them into the creeks and inlets, and that with
fuch violence, that they frequently run themfelves afhore. In
Sundmoer they are often taken up in pails as faft as the people
can put them in; and there are often fuch fhoals of them that
they incommode one another. What is moft extraordinary is,
that fometimes this fhoal is feen in the middle of the water,
crowded fo clofe together, that they lift one another above the
furface ; and one man may, in the fpace of an hour, take up
60 or 70 of them with a pole, to the end of which a firong
fithing-hook is faftened. They catch them alfo with ang ling
rods and lines, and nets ; and this laft way they will fometimes
take 200 casks of them at a draught.

The Suk, the Albula nobilis, is a {mall frefh-water Fifth, well sik.

tafted : it is generally found with the Salmon-Trout, and is
reckoned a better Fith; but there is no great refemblance
between them, tho’ they ufually breed in the fame lakes.

The Sild, the Herring, Harengus, a Fifh every where known, si.

and from our feas fent almoft all over Europe : it would therefore
be fuperfluous to detain the reader with a particular defcription
of it; a very full one may be read in Schonveldii Ichtyolog. Neu-
crantzil, Opufc. de Harange, & Willoughby’s Hift. Pifc. . This
laft author calls the Herring Rex Pifcium, the King of Fithes ;
which appellation may be taken in this fenfe ; viz. that of all
Fifh there is none fo profitable to us Europeans ; for in the Nether-

lands _

Food.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

lands they reckon above 150,000 people, whofe fole livelihood is
the catching, pickling, and trafficking with Herrings. Here in
Norway alfo, and efpecially in the diocefe of Bergen,. and mahor
of Nordland; there are many thoufands of families that maintain
themfelves ‘chiefly » by:Cod ‘and Herring fitheries. . The Herrings
alone bring in annually feveral thoufand pounds to Bergen, Tron-
heim, Stavanger, and Lille-foffen, which is now called’ Chriftian~
fund. ‘The Herring like the Salmon, is not to be taken by any
kind of bait, nor is there ever found any food in its ftomach
on opening it... Hence it has been generally fuppofed that they
live upon wateralo ne *; and we fee, that out of their element
they cannot live many minutes, fcarce any Fifh dies fo quietly ;
which is fappofed to be owing to this, that their gills are very
large in proportion, and fo open, that the air immediately rufhes
in, and ftifles them. . Their flefh is reckoned wholfomeft when
pickled, and, according to Nicol. Tulpius’s Obferv. Medic. p.
135, it refrefhes the ftomach, and promotes digeftion}. The
Herrings, like the Mackrel, aflemble together, and follow one
another in vaft fhoals ; and itis faid they have always a leader of
their own fpecies, which is eighteen inches long, and proportion-
ably broad. This is related by Martin, in his Defcription of the
Weftern Iflands of Scotland, p. 143. It is faid alfo, that the
fithermen call this Fifh the King of the Herrings, and never touch
him, reckoning it little lefs. than treafon to deftroy a Fifh that
has that title; but this is rather a fuperftition, or a fear that

their fifhery will fuffer by it for the future, than a fpirit of loy-

alty ; for the common people here are full of thefe fuperftitions,
and obferve them a great deal more than the word of God. I
have juft obferved that the Herrings follow one another, and flock
together in great multitudes ; from whence fome are of opinion
that the German name Hering is derived ; but no body can form
any idea of the largenefs and extent of thefe prodigious fhoals,
but our Norvegian fifhermen; and even what they fee is but a

{mall part of them §. —

* | begin to be in doubt of this matter, fince one of my correfpondents has obferved
that the fmall Autumn Herrings have bit at a bait on a hook faltened to a horfe-hair.

+ The Emperor Charles the Vth, who was a great admirer of a pickled Herring,
when he came to Biervliet in the Netherlands, in the year 1 556, paid a vifit to the tomb
of William Bukholds, to return him thanks for his difcovery and inftructions in the
method of pickling Herings, printed in the year 1386, Gottfr. Chronic. Part 6, p.
635. This monarch’s Spanifh fubjects did not acquire fo much wealth from the Ame-
‘tican Gold. mines, as his Netherland fubjects by the Herring fifhery. See London

Magazine for June 1752, p. 276. —

§ See Atlas Commercial. & Maritim. printed at London in-1728.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAN 145

If infinity wete applicable to any thing created, one might
venture to make ufe of that word with regard to the Herrings 5
for each of them has more than ten thoufand grains or eggs in
ifs roe. 7

The numberlefs {warms of thefe, as well as of Cod, &c that
come forth annually from the deep, and from their fhelter under
the great flakes of ice at the north pole, divide themfelves, ac-
cording to Anderfon’s obfervations; in his Defcription of Iceland,
p. 57, & feq. into three bodies ;. one part direCting their courfe annual pere
Southward, towards the Britifh iflands ; another part Weftward, #"*"°"
towards Newfoundland, and other places in North America ; and
a third part to the left, along the coaft of Norway, and after-
wards through the Sound into the Baltic. In Orefund they were
feen formerly in greater abundance than they are now, though the
Danifh coafts, efpecially above Aalborg, are ftill happily fup-
ply'd with them ; for which we fhould praife thé bountiful Crea-
tor. Hlowever, thefe divided and éxtenfive fhoals of Herrings
bear no proportion to the innumerable multitudes that fwarm
near the North pole about the middle of the Winter, Our fhoals
of Herrings and Cod touch upon the Weftern. coaft of Norway,
principally Nordland, and) afterwards on Chriftianfund, in the dio:
cele of Tronheim; and from thence quite through the didcefe of ©
Bergen, to the ifland of Karmen, near Stavanger. ‘They come up tO Infiigated to
the ihore, according to the Creator’s directions, and are: purfued St
and driven thither in inconceivable numbers, by their enemies the vidence.
Fith of prey. Thefe are principally (as I obferved before) the
Sharks, the fmaller of the Whale-kind, and that fort among large
ones, which is called the Herring-whale. This monftrous Fith,
like the chief tyrant, continually drives the large fhoals of Her-
tings and Cod before him; and when, on account of his enor-
mous fize, he dares not venture himéfelf further in between the
outer iflands and the rocks, he ftill remains a month or fix weeks
on the watch, near the great fand-bank above-mentioned,

This extraordinary fand-bank runs parallel to the fhore for about .
fixty Norvegian, and above three hundred Englifh miles. In
the mean time, it feems as if the Whale had refigned his command
to the {maller Fith of prey, and thof at laft to the Cod, and fome
others ; which, while they themfelves are purfued in turn, never
ceafe purfuing the Herrings, which are a prey to every thing. How
violently thefe poor creatures are harrafs’d, and driven along the
fhore, and in the inlets and creeks, may be concluded from this ;
that the water, though quite ftill before, curls up in waves,
where they come. They crowd together in fuch numbers, that

Parr Il. Pp they

146

Various ways
ef catching.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

they may be taken up by pails full, and people even pick them
up with their hands. . |

A hill of Herrings (fo they call a large fhoal of them) according
to all the fifhermens accounts, reaches from the bottom to the
furface of the water, which, in the moft places thereabouts,
is an hundred or two hundred fathoms deep. They extend alfo
to a confiderable circumference. Were they all to be caught, the
greateft part would be loft ; for it would be impoflible to get
hands, tubs, falt, and other neceflaries for the curing of them.
Several hundred fhip-loads are fent every year from Bergen alone, |
to foreign parts, befide the great quantity that is confumed at
home by the peafants, who make them their daily provifion ; tho”

they do but half falt them: ‘thefe “are called four Herrings,

which juft fuit their palate*. “To all this I may add, the incre-
dible number that is’ufed by way of bait for other Fifh; for Her-
rings are a bait that almoft all Fifh are fond of: -half a’ Herring
is ufually hang to each hook ata time. |

I fhall now give fome account of the: various ways of catching
Herrings in the feveral feafons of the year, and the difference
obferved between thofe Herrings that are caught at thofe feveral
times. The firft'and largeft, but not the fatteft, are thofe that
generally appear on the coaft of Norway, from Chriftmas to
Candlemas+}. Thefe-are called Stor-fild, i. e. large Herrings, and

by other names exprefling their excellence. Thefe* pitch upon _

fome particular fhallows near the fhore, which are called Stiev,

* Though the Herring-fithery has this year, 1752, not been near fo great as ufual,
yet in thefe nine months, from January 1, to Oétober 16, there have been exported
from Bergen eleven thoufand and thirteen lafts ; and by the end of the year there will
be a great many more. . |

+ A little after T'welfth-day the common people begin to look out for the Whale
from the high cliffs, which prognofticates the arrival of the Herrings. They calculate
the time by an old provetb : :

” Sidft i Torre og forft i Gio
Skal Sild og Hval vere i fio.

In Englith :

The latter end of Torre, or beginning of Gio,
The Whale and the Herring muft be in the fea.

This period, according to the common opinion, depends upon the change of the
moon: for the firft new moon after Chriftmas is called Torre, and the next is called
Gio: therefore they generally obfefve the Chriftmas moon. The Spring Whales make
their appearance firft, in great numbers, and are feen ten or fourteen, and fometimes
only three or four days before the great Whales, of which they are look’d upon as the
harbingers or fore-runners. “Thefe Spring Whales range themfelves in a line, and run
over all the fith-grourds,-as if they were intent upon driving away other {mall Fifhes,
that the coaft may be clear for the Herrings to difcharge their {pawn at the proper
feafon. | " .

where

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

where the females every year eje& their roe, and the males their
milt. If the weather happens to be very {tormy, and the fea fo
boifterous, that they cannot be quiet on thofe grounds, they are
fore’d to difcharge their roe out in the main fea ; where they are
obliged to ftruggle both againft the ocean, and their enemy the
Whale, who is not a little incommoded by the {welling furges.
Nor is the lofs of the Herrings the only one the country expe-
riences at thefe times, for it is likewife deprived of great quan-
tities of Cod, and other valuable Fifth, that otherwife would
come in to prey upon the {pawn of the Herrings; but as that
is not to be found there, they keep away.

In the mean time the country people affemble together upon
the fhore by thoufands, while a great number put off feveral
miles to fea, or between the iflands and rocks, and in fifhing
places that are neareft to their habitations. At this feafon one
may often fee, in the compafs of a mile, upwards of 2 or 300
fifhing- boats lying on their ftation for a whole month or longer,
and cafting their large nets, which are 60 or 7o feet long.
They generally put two of thefe nets together; and tho’ there
are a great many, perhaps 1oo or 150 in one place, and pretty
clofe together, yet, in afew hours, they will be fo loaded with
Herrings, that they fometimes fink to the bottom, and are very
difficult to be drawn up again. In each net they will often
catch 4 or 5000 large Herrings, which hang faft by their gills
in the mefhes of the net. Towards the Spring, or in Lent,
there comesa fmaller fort, which our people call Straale-Sild,
and Gaate-Sild: they are likewife caught the fame way in thofe
large fpread nets, which for this ufe are made with fmaller
mefhes ; or they’ are caught with the caft-net, which is what

they commonly ufe in Denmark. This is not fixed like the
other, but thrown in, and dragg’d out generally full of Fith;
for thefe fmaller Herrings come very near the fhore, and allure
fome of the larger forts before mentioned along with them,
which would not venture in were it not for their company. © It
happens fometimes that the fifherman takes a fufficient quantity
at one fingle caft; and it is not rare, that he catches feveral
hundred casks, and even more than he can difpofe of. This
fat Tam going to relate is furprizing, and what foreigners will
hardly believe; but I myfelf am very well affured of it, and the
whole city of Bergen can witnefs the fame; namely, that with
one caft of the net here in Sundifiord, there were caught as many
Herrings as filled 100 (fome fay 150) jaggers, each jagger of
too ton burthen, which makes 10,000 ton taken at one draught.

| When

147

148

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVWAYL

When the Summer is pretty far advanced, or towards the-
Autumn, another fort, called Summer Herrings, are chafed to
the fhore by the Sturgeons and {mall Whales. Thefe again differ,
and are divided into two forts, one of which is called Bonde-
Gods, or peafants goods; the others, which are large and fat,
we reckon merchants goods, and are curd for exportation.
When thefe laft are dire@tly pickled down, (and not kept a whole
day firft, which fometimes happens om account of the great
numbers that are taken, and then put up in oaken barrels, for fir
gives them a tafte,) they are as good in every refpect as the
Dutch, which are fold by the name of Flemifh Herrings 3 for
thefe, notwithftanding the name, are caught on the coaft of
Scotland, juft oppofite to us, and are, without doubt, the fame
breed. Inthe manor of Nordland they catch thefe fat Summer

Herrings at Michaelmas, and, after the Dutch manner, in the

night, with a kind of drag-net, which they carry betwixt two
boats, and row gently along, about the openings into the fea,
and in the water that runs between the out iflands and cliffs;
Many hundred boats are employed there ; and when the Herrings
they take there are inftantly pickled fo foon as they are taken
out of the net, they are inferior to none for fat and flavour *,
If we were to ufe thofe drag-nets here in the diocefe of Bergen,
(which fome people feem inclinable to do) it would, without
doubt, be very advantageous: we fhould get a great number
of Herrings that otherwife go away, particularly in thofe years
when the Summer Herrings only fwim about the coaft, and are
too fhy to come near it. This happened the very laft Summer,
when great fhoals were feen, and went away unmolefted. Our
fifhermen think it more advifeable to flay till the Fith go into
fome narrow creek, where they can but barely turn ; they watch
this opportunity, and then fhut up a whole fhoal, or at leaft a
great part of it, in this creek, and there keep them prifoners
till they can take them by degrees, and fo pickle them down ;
but the laft that are taken are generally emaciated and fpoiled.
It is the beft way to keep thefe Herrings fhut up in the creek for
a day or two befote they are caught, that the Roe-Aat, a {mall
and red. worm, (that has been mentioned in the chapter of Infe&s)
which is found in their bellies at this time of the year, and
makes them rot very foon, fhould be digefted and carried off.
But they are often, on account of their vaft numbers, kept thus
fhut up a fortnight or three weeks together ; and, by this confine-

* Thefe Nordland Herrings are often fo fat, that when they are put into warm fauce,

they will diffolve away like an Anchovy, and leave nothing but the bones.
ment,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY. 149
ment, many of them are quite emaciated, and others die and
putrify, filling the creek with fuch a ftench, that the Herrings
avoid the place which was their haunt, for two or three years to
come. An inftance of this kind happened in the year 1748, if Numberlefs
Swanoe Sogn, where the fifhermen had fhut up an incredible hear
number of Spring Herrings, which a citizen of Bergen bought
of them for roo Rix-dollars and a cask of Brandy. They fay he
loaded 80 jaggers with them, ‘and left, perhaps, as many behind,
to putrify on the fand. | :

Of the Summer Herring kind are thofe which have been fpoke Blaa. or fmall

of before by the name of Briflinger, or Anchovies, which differ’ “""*”
only in the fharpnefs of their belly; and, according to the
opinion of many, are but the young fry of the common Herrings,
which have not attained their full growth. Others, and per-
haps with better foundation, reckon them a different fpecies,
which never grow larger. There is alfo brought to Bergen,
about the beginning of December, before we have the large
Herrings, that come to the coaft about the middle of January,
as I obferved above, a middle-fiz’d and pretty good fort, which
we call Soel-hoved Herrings, and likewife a particular fort of
Cod which is called by the fame name, the etymology of which
Tam unacquainted with. From this account we may fee, that
the reafon why the Herring (as has been faid before) is called the
King of Fifhes, is, becaufe they are of all Fith the moft
ferviceable to mankind, and are found in the greateft abundance ;
and not on account of the homage paid them by other Fith.
On the contrary, they are devoured by almoft all other kinds,
and harraffed by all the fea-birds; not to mention the numbers
that ferve for food for the human fpecies, which, perhaps, do
not exceed the half of what is deftroyed, Notwithflanding all
this, the Herring kind is neither extin@, nor vifibly diminithed,
when we take into the account what is contained in the fea in
general: in this appears the providence of the Almighty Being,
by whom all things exift, and are continually preferved according
to his wife decrees. - In this light the Herrings fate feems to be
fimilar to that of the Ifraelites ; of whom it is obferved, that not
‘only formerly in Egypt, but at this prefent time in every part
of the world, the more they are crufhed and oppreffed, the more
they multiply and encreafe. | .

The Skalle, the Alburnus, is a frefh-water Fifth, well known sxatte
in Denmark. It has large feales, from whence it probably has
jts name. It is generally caught in the lakes in Romerige,
Parr II. ane Odes Hede-

150

Soe-Kat.

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

Hedemarken, and other places; but it does not bear any
great price. |

The Soe-Kat, the Sea-Cat, or Gattorugive of the Mediter-
ranean, found in Nordland, but not frequent, 1s a Fiih unknown
to moft of my correfpondents. It is about two feet long;
the head is quite round ; the eyes are large ; the belly thick, but
tapering towards the tail, which ends in three points. Near the
gills it has broad fins on the back; of an unequal fize, and two

_ {mall ones under the mouth. The nofe has two long griftly flips,

Solv-Fifk.

like whifkers, from which, perhaps, the Fifh takes its name.
The fkin is brown and fmooth, like an Eel’s. The beft part of
this Fith is the liver, from which is extracted an oil, reckoned an
incomparable liniment for the eyes. si
The Solv-Fifk, a name by which I fhall call a {mall Sea-fith
found in Bergens-fund, of which nobody could tell me any other’
name. It is about a finger and a half long, hardly half a finger
thick, roundifh, and without any great difference between the
tail and the fore-part, but with a little kind of beak at the
head. The fkin has no fcales, and is all over white, and fhining
like polifhed filver. Concerning the internal parts of this Fifh I
can fay nothing, becaufe I have only feen it dry, with the entrails
taken out. Mr. Willoughby, Lib. iv. p. 210, {peaks of a
defcription that was given him of a {mall Firth, of much the fame
colour and fhape, called Atherina; and p. 229 of another,
which (as this is named by fome) he calls Argentina. Of this

Fith the jewellers at Rome are faid to make falfe pearls. Whether

Spek-hugger.

either of thefe be the fame with our Solv-Filk I cannot fay.
“¢ Exterius pulchre velut argento politifiimo obductus refplendet.
Hujus ufus eft gemmaris ad margaritas artificiales efficiendas,
que naturales & genuinas mentiantur.”

The Spek-hugger, or Vahu, is in fhape much like a Porpeffe,
and about four feet long. It has a fharp fnout and very keen
teeth ; which, with its long projeCting jaws, makes it fomewhat
refemble the Crocodile. This is a troublefome Fifh to others.:
tis his principal pleafure to harrafs and plague the great Whales,
which, on account of their large fize, are leaft able to turn about,
or defend themfelves againft thefe lefler creatures. Sometimes
one may fee half a fcore or more of thefe together, fall eagerly
upon the Whale, and faften on his fides: they will hang there
an hour without loofing their hold, till they have each tore out a
mouthful of flefh of a foot {quare. During this attack the Whale
makes a difmal noife, and will fometimes jump up five or fix feet
above the furface of the water; at which time thefe Fith are

feen

NATURAL HISTORY f VORWAY.

feen hanging about him. Sometimes they don’t leave him till
they have fiript him to the bone; and then, without doubt,
they deftroy him. After this the fifhermen find a-deal of the
Whale’s fiefh and fat floating on the water, which is a good
prize to them; for the Spek-huggern does not eat the flefh, but
only delights in ‘plaguing the larger Fifh. Thefe. deftroyers are,
however, themfelves deftroyed in their turn; for when they are
obferved to run into a narrow creek between the’ rocks, the
fifhermen then clofe up this place with a net, and fo take them.
Their fat is melted down for train oil, and their fleth is fome-
times eaten, and is faid to be tolerably well tafted.

Spring-hvale, the Spring-Whale. See Hvalfisk.

BBO -8. Vi.

I5I

Spring-hvale.

Steenbider, the Stone-biter, Lupus Pifcis, the Wolf-fith, fo steenbider.

called, becaufe ’tis faid it can bite pebble-ftones to pieces with its
exceflive {harp teeth. Againft thefe the fifhermen are obliged to be
upon their guard ; for when they once faften upon a man, they
never quit their hold till the bone cracks. ‘Their length is about
a foot and a half, or two feet; their skin is of a dark colour,
and as {mooth as that of an.Eel; which they refemble in the
hinder part, excepting that. they are fomething broader, and
have a fort of hanging fins along the back. The head, which is

thick and round, has an odd appearance, and is not unlike that

of a cat, with two rows of teeth, in the upper and lower jaw.

The flefh of, it is hard, but fat; and is much efteemed by the
common .people. It is canght with a line, and often ftuck with
a Saimon-fpear, when it is feen through clear water, on the

fandy bottom, where they continually harrafs and devour the
Lobfters. — 7

The Steen-Brofmer, alfo called Tanofperling, becaufe it lives steen-Brof

generally amongft weeds, and, perhaps feeds upon them, is long
and narrow hie an Eel, but the head is almoft like that of a
Pike, and is fpeckled with dark fpots. The back, as well as
the belly, has feveral broad and ftrong fins running the whole
length of it. They are moftly found in Nordland, and are there
look’d upon as an eatable Fifh. In tafte they are much like the
Lamprey. The roe is the moft efteem’d part. This is, indeed,
well tafted, and fat in appearance, and feems to be the fame Fith
which the Dutch call Sandkroeper. By fome authors it is
reckoned a kind of Torpedo. |

mer.

_ The Steen-Ulk, Rana Pifcatrix, the Frog-fith, by the Englifh steen-uix.

and the Sicilians called the Sea-Devil, becaufe of its frightful
a fhape

152

Stilling?

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUYr

fhape and its fiercenefs, Somie writers defcribe this Fith a foot
long. In this country they are feen, tho’ feldom, about fix feet -

long ;- and this is their natural fize. The fample I have is much

larger, being full feven feet, and perhaps it is fhrunk a good
deal in drying. The bones of it are rather griftly than hard ;
the colour is white underneath and darkifh above. The head is.
fo large, that it makes above one half of the Fifh: adjoining to it
there is only a little narrow body, which terminates in a very
fharp-pointed tail. It has feveral fins, the largeft of which are
the two under the head. Upon the bone of the fnout there je an
erect, long, narrow flip: the eyes are very large; and the jaws
open very wide, and are fet with many rows of {trong teeth: the
lower jaw is longer than the upper, and may be ftretched quite
open. When he does that we have opportunity to fee the tongue,
which is thick and broad, and has, on the upper part, a number
of fharp teeth or points, like thofe in the jaws; fo that no Fifh
can poflibly bite more terribly than this. All round the under
jaw-bone there hangs feveral flips, or falfe fins, of a griftly fub-
{tance, about four inches long: thefe flips, before the Fith is dried,
look like fo many worms. ‘Thefe the Steen-Ulk makes uf of to
decoy other Fifh with, when he wants to catch them, To this
end he will get upon the edge of a rock, and open his jaws
very wide: this vaft mouth the other Fith, who are {triving to
get the fuppofed floating worms, take to be an opening or crack
in the rock, 6 fall a prey to this Fifh, and are devoured una-
wares. Gafp. Schottus, in his Phyfica Curiofa, Lib. x. c. xli.
p- 1142, fays of this voracious Fifh-hunter, that the above
mentioned long and narrow bone that ftands upon the fnout of it,
and hangs into the water, ferves alfo as a bait to decoy the Fifh:
this may poflibly be, tho’ I fhould rather think that the creature
ufed it to ftrike {mall Fifh with. This Fifh eats every thing
that comes initsway. L. C. he fays, “ Cibus preeter pifces etiam
caro humana, fi copia fuppetat. Gefnerus refert fe audiviffe, na-
tantem aliquando virili membro apprehenfum detraxiffe in pro-
fundum.” It is feldom caught, except by accidentally coming
unawares into the net with other Fifh, This Fith is found
chiefly under the rocks, or among the weeds *,
Stilling. See Hundftigle. |

* P.S. There has been lately caught a Rana Pifcatrix, without any thing in its
ftomach but Mufcle-thells, and a pretty large ftone. The Fith ftood upon his defence
againft the Fifhermen, who being near the fhore, knock’d it on the head with the
boat-hook. : |

The

NATURALHISTORY f VORVAY. 453

The Store, or Storje, Sturio, the Surgeon, is an excellent Fith for storre.
the table ; it is ten or twelve feet in length, and very ftrong and
voracious. We have here, befide the true Sturgeon, four different
forts of Fith, called by this name, with the addition of the name
of thofe on which they feed, and of which they may be accounted
the greateft enemies. Some are called Salmon-ftorjer, others —
Mackarel-ftorjer, others Herring-ftorjer, and again, others Sey
ftorjer *. They come towards the fhore about Midfummer, with
the Summer-herrings, which they drive along at fuch a violent
rate, that they will raife themfelves above the furface of the water
in the purfuit. They do not {wim together in fhoals, or extend in
breadth, but follow one another in a ftrait line, laying hold of
each other’s tails. When a whole {tring of them is feen thus
together, they are fometimes taken for the great Sea-fhake, of
which I fhall treat hereafter. |
The Sturgeon is fometimes caught in the Salmon-nets, or ftuck
with a harpoon, called here a fkottel. The fleth of it is finely
interlarded with fat, and a fingle Fifh will fill two catks, They
are pickled. down, and the peafants reckon them a great’ deli- .
cacy: they likewife cut them into flices, and make what they
call rekling of them. The Salmon-ftorjen is the fatteft, and out
of its head alone may be extracted fometimes a half cafk of oil,
This Storjer, which is a large Fith of prey, deferves the name
Accipenfer among the Fifh, as well as the hawk does that of
Accipiter among the birds.’ There is alfo caught here, tho’ feldom,
another fort of Fifh of the fame name, which is quite harmlefs ;
this is the true Sturgeon. It has no teeth in the jaws, and is
obferved to fuck the flime at the bottom of the féa, which is their
only nourifhment. ‘The Sturgeon fattens, like the Salmon, in
rivers and frefh water. “‘ Sturio nunquam fere vel certe rariflime
in prealto mari capitur. Mariaeum gignunt, fed flumina maxime
nobilitant. Pinguefcit enim dulcium aquarum hauftu. Dum
efcam querit, more fuis terram fub aquis roftro fodit, &c.”’ Wil.
loughb. L. iv. c. 22, p. 240. I have one of thefe fort: of Stor,
caught fome time ago in Nordfiord, in my colleGtion of the ftarce
Fifh of this country: it is almoft eight feet long, the head at
firit fight appears fomething like a Pike’s, but inftead of the
mouth it has a kind of a fnout, with feveral flips or beards hanging
down under the head. The mouth is placed in the middle under-

_ *Sturio nomen Gothicum effe afferit Jul. Caf. Scaliger, & ab ea gente in reliquam
Europam tranflatum. Quod facile mihi perfuafero. Stur vel Stoer magnum.notat in
noftra lingua, quocirca probabile eft, ob magnitudinem fuam hoc generali nomine ap-
pellatum quoque fuiffe hunc pifcem. Accipenfer veterum efle videtur & galeus Rho-
dius Athenzi, Aufonio filurus, nobis Stoer. Ol. Worm. Muf. py 243.

PaRT II. Rr neath,

154

God's provi-
dence,

Swerd-fisk.!

NATURALHISTORY of VORWAY

neath, like that of the Shark, but is differently formed from the

Shark’s, for it isquite round, and about two or three inches dia-
meter. The mouth is not armed with teeth, either for ufe or
defence, as has been faid before, for their food is only what they
fuck up at the oozy bottom of the water. As. this Fith is thus
unarmed, and incapable either of defending itfelf, or of hurting
other Fifh, the marks of Providence appear in its peculiar ftruc-
ture; for.it has defenfive weapons of an extraordinary fize :, thefe
are thick and broad fcales, or plates of bone, which cover almoft
all its body, and ferve as it were fora coat of mail. Thefe
plates of bone, for fo they may properly be called, are fixty-four
in number, every one of which is as big as a crown-piece, but
fomewhat oval *. They may be divided into five rows,. .The
middle row is angular, and runs all along the back; their fins
and tail are very much like thofe of the Shark. The gills are
pretty wide, and guarded with very ftrong bones. In all this
we may obferve how wifely God has formed every creature to
anfwer his purpofes and defigns.

The Sweerd-fifk, or, more properly, the Saug-filk, the Saw-fith,
Priftis, or Serra Pifcis: Thus Clufius Exot. L: vi. c. 9, calls it,
becaufe of its long and flat nofe, or rather the flat horn, that it

has on the upper part of the fnout. This horn is fet on both fides

with {mall {pines, or teeth, like thofe of a faw, from whence
it hasitsname. The dry’d Saw-fifh that is in my pofleffion is
about three feet fix inches long, and about three fingers broad,
but they grow much larger, this being but a young one; it has
twenty-five teeth in each jaw, which are about a finger’s breadth
diftant from each other. |

This Fifh is fhaped almoft like a Spring-whale, but has not
fuch a fharp head, nor is it of the clafs of Whales, according to
the opinion of the before-quoted author and others. On the
contrary, he often attacks the Whale, and with his faw tears him
under the belly, fo that he makes a terrible roaring, and jumps
up above the furface of the water, in order to efcape from it. This
Fifh is but feldom feen in our feas. Its proper refidence is about
Spitzberg, Iceland, and Greenland. See more on this head in
Martin’s Spitzberg Travels, Cap. vi. No. 7. It is alfo frequently
feen on the coaft of Guinea in Africa; and in the General Col-
lection of Voyages and Travels, Tom. v. p. 321, it is faid, that

* Ordines officulorum in. cute 5. funt, fed medius tantum ordo, qui 14. circiter offi-
culis conftat, angulofus eft, cujus nimirum fineula fquama ephippium forma refert, per
medium dorfum fecundum totam longitudinem in proceffum tenuem & fecantem affur-
gens, pofterius adunco fine terminata. Lateralia officula ut & ventralia rhomboidea
& fere plana funt, &c, C. Linneus in Fauna Suec. p. 102.

out

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

out of a particular veneration for them, the inhabitants of that
country never take them, unlefs it be by accident 5 and then the

faw is held for a fetiffo, or facred relick, by the idolaters,

SEC T. VI.

The Tart, or Pinke, is a fmall kind of Salmon, and differs Tart.
but very little from the common kind, except it be in fize; for
it is not as big as the Salmon when full grown. It is therefore
confidered as a particular kind ; though by fome writers
thought to be no other than a young Salmon.

Torfk, the Cod-fifh, Morhua, five Afellus Major. This well- Tors.
Known Fifh, with the Herrings, affords the beft part’ of their
livelihood to the inhabitants of this kingdom. They are chiefly
caught along the Weftern coaft. They {tay here all the year, and
are taken in great quantities: but as we have more than one fort

of Cod-fifh, and the feafons and manner of catching them are dif-
ferent, according to their fpecies, &c. I hall dwell a little upon
the fnbject, and give a more full and exa@ defcription, as I have
done with regard to the Herrings.

The large Cod is called here Skrey, and alfo the Spring Cod.

Thefe, in moft years, come in great abundance to the fhore in
Winter, prefently after the firft Hertings, and are then fat and
large. They come in to pick up the young fry of the Herrings,

or the Spawn, juft difcharged on the fholes *, and at that time

they do not care to bite at the hook, but are caught in great Way of catch:
numbers in thofe nets which they call fetnings-garn. Thefe are? °™
made of, packthread, and work’d pretty large ; each meth is four
inches {quare, and there are about 15 of thefe methes in breadth ;

fo that the net may be near a, fathom wide, and full twenty
fathoms in length. Of thefe kind of nets they ufe in bad weather
‘about eighteen, but in fine weather twenty-four, to one large

boat with fix men: fo that when the whole number is fix’d, they
extend to a length of 480. fathoms, in about fifty or feventy
fathoms water. They have buoys fixed to the nets, to fhew
where they are placed. About this coaft we do not ufually extend
them to fuch a length, but are fatisfied with fixty or a hundred
fathoms. Thefe nets in twenty-four hours will fill a good large
boat with Fifth. They go out in the afternoon, and fet thofe
nets, and early the next morning they take them in again ; and
they frequently find three, four, or five hundred large Cod in

~ * When the Cod is expeéted, then our Sundmoer peafants look upon a violent ftorm,
with a North-weft wind, which they call Grundftod, to be the effectual means of driving
them to the coaft, and to promote their fifhery ; therefore, at that time, they pray to
God for fuch ftorms as at other times they beg to be delivered from,

T55

it is

each

156

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

each net, When thefe Fifh have been on the thallows a few
weeks, and have devoured a good deal of the Herrings {pawn,
and difcharged their own, they become more gréedy, and begin
to bite at the hook : this is baited with Herring or Cod’s belly.
This kind of fithing lafts till about Eafter, and then they leave
the coaft, and are quite lank and emaciated. Juft before Eater
thefe are fucceeded by another kind, called Klubbe-Cod, or Kabi.
liau, which is much larger than the Spring Cod, and is re-
matkable for a great head, and a very ihort tail. Thefe are
firm, and then in feafon. They are caught with a hook and line.
Towards Michaelmas there comes a third and {maller fort, called
the Red Cod, from the colour of its skin. It is alfo called. the
Tarre Cod, becaufe they are found among the weeds, which are
called in our language Tarre. About December a fourth fore
comes upon the coaft, which we call Soelhoved-Torsk. ‘This is of
a yellowith grey, pretty large and firm, but it has a fmaller head
than the laft mentioned. Thefe, as well as the former, are
caught, as we exprefs it, partly with a {mall line, and partly
with a ftrong one ; which words I fhall here explain for the be-
nefit of thofe who are unacquainted with the feveral methods of
fifhing. -A fifhing-line, or, as they call it here, a Linie-va, is a
rope feven or eight hundred fathoms long, to which are faftened
about 200 hooks, with a piece of Herring on each for a bait.
This long line, with the hooks, is let down one hundred, and
often 2 or 300 fathoms deep, and extended on the bottom of

the fea. From this to the furface of the water is carried an-

other line, and to this buoys are fix’d, to mark the place. When
the Linie-va is drawn up, there is fometimes'a Fifh on every
hook, Cod, Ling, Turbot, or others. The fmall line is, on the
contrary, very fine, and hung out of a boat, in about feven or
eight fathom water, As they are continually rowing about, there
is a man conftantly watching them, to pull up each line, as foon
as the Fifh is perceived to bite. By either of thefe ways a boat °
is often fill’d with Fifh two or three times in twenty-four hours.
In the manor of Nordland, above Tronheim, the fifheries are by
much the moft confiderable, though the Sundmoer and Nord-
moer fitheries have, for a few years of late, been as good. For-
merly they ufed to catch Cod only with thefe twe forts of lines ;
but, as I have already obferved, the Spring Cod do not care to
bite at the bait at firft, becaufe they are plump and fat, and are
fatisfied with the fpawn of the Herrings, which they are ex-
tremely fond of. Upon this account they have, within thefe
twenty or thirty years, begun to fifh for Cod, as they do for

a ¥ Herrings, ~

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 157

‘Herrings, with thofe fettnings-garn, or fett-nets. This has occa-
fioned feveral law-fuits in the country, and at length a general
controverfy, which is as much fharper, as it is more important, Strong contro-
than many of the trifling difputes which engage our learned wri- *"””
ters. However, the fifhermen and peafants are agreed in this
point, namely, that it is the duty of an honeft man to that his
eyes and ears againft all new difcoveries, and obftinately to infift
upon it, that all things fhould remain as they were in the time
of their fore-fathers ; that method being apparently the beft.
They have reprefented at the courts of juftice, and at their feveral
meetings on this occafion, that nets fright the Cod away, and
ought not to be tolerated, but confidered as a pernicious innova-
tion. Thefe obje&ions, on the other hand, are contradiGed b
experience, which is the beft inftrudor ; for it is undeniable, that
dince thefe nets have been ufed, there has been exported from this
city, and, in all probability, from other parts of Norway, a much
greater quantity of Fith than ever. The truth perhaps is, that
nets, which are very beneficial to the public, may perhaps preju-
dice fome few private people; I mean fuch as either will not, or
are not able to furnifh themfelves with thofe expenfive large ones
above-mentioned.’ It is indeed a general, but very true obfer-
vation, that the rich and wealthy have frequent opportunities of
increafing their wealth, at the expence of the poorer fort of
people. What enhances the price of nets is, that when the Winter
proves flormy and tempeftous, it deftroys the nets on thefe coafts,
to the value of feveral thoufand dollars; which is a very confi-
derable lofs to the owners, |

{ thall now give fome account of the feveral methods of CUTLINE Various me-
this Fifh, and making it fit for exportation. They are either ae
fold as falted Cod, Titling, Roskizer, Rundfisk, or Khipfisk ¥ and their ex-
The firft fort, namely Salt Cod, is thus prepared : after the head im,
is cut off, and the entrails‘are taken out, it’ is put into a large
tub, and ftrew’d ‘over with French falt' as it is put in: when it
has lain ‘aboutseight days! it is taken up, and daid in heaps, for the
pickle to run ‘off; then it is packed up in casks, with Spanith or
Portugal falt, the better to preferve it. Titlnger is the name of
the leaft fort of Cod, which are only hung up on lines, and fo
* Under thefe various names. of dry’d Cod, which in Denmark are all compre-.
hended under one name, viz: Rock-fifh, there has been exported from this city in the
prefent year, 1752, during nine months, namely, from the firft of January to the 16th

of October, 317,804 nett-weight, each weight being 36 pounds, befides a great deal

of pickled Cod‘in'cafks ; from which may. be feen the goodnefs of the Creator, and
the immienfe wealth ‘contained in the North fea. Great quantities of Cod are likewife
exported from: Tronheim,’ Chriftianfurnd, and Stavanger ; and for this purpofe alone
there is annually imported to Bergen 40,000 tons of Spanifh and French falt. |

et Part II. Sf dry’d.

160

Cods roe.

Train-oil of
the liver.

NATURAL HISTORY off VORWAY.

dry'd, Roskier Ced is flit up the back, and then dry’d. Rund-
fisk, or Round-fith, is that which we commonly call Stock-fith:
this is dry’d without flitting. The Klip-fith is flit like the
Roskier, and is dry’d by {preading it on the cliffs, from whence
it has its name. The goodnefs of thefe feveral forts depends
chiefly upon the weather in which they are cur’d ; for if it does
not happen to be dry enough for the Fith to be thoroughly pe-
netrated by the wind and cold, they are apt to look red, parti-
cularly near the bones. Hence the Nordland Round-fith is reck-
oned the beft, becaufe the cold being more intenfe there, pene-
trates them fooner than in other places. In the Baltic we fell
moft falt Cod, but at Hamburgh, Bremen, and Amfterdam, the

dry ; from whence they are carried up the rivers all over Ger-

many. Some are exported to Flanders and England, but not fo
many as to Italy, Spain, and other countries in the Mediterra-
nean. As for the French, they trade themfelves in this branch,
fince their fifheries in North America have been brought into a
good condition. The Fifh are fo well cured there, that in moft |
markets they give them the preference to ours: but our good
Norvegians, who have been longer ufed to it, ought certainly to
equal, if not excel them, im this particular ; or, at leaft, they might
follow their method. If this be too difficult a task, were they
to fend fome people thither to learn the art, it would be very
well worth while. To travel, in order to-make improvements in
trade and commerce, would be more laudable in our young men
of fortune, than any other end they can propofe to themfelves in
vifiting foreign countries. | |
Notwithftanding this, the French cannot do without the fpawn
of our Norway Cods, which they ufe by way of bait, to ftrew

in the fea when they catch what they call Sardeller, a fort of

Fith fomething like our Hesrings. For that purpofe feveral thou-
fand cafks of cods roe are falted down every year in Norway.
Within thefe twenty years particularly, the demand has been fo
great in France, that we have exported thither annually four-
teen or fixteen fhip-loads of roes only, befides afmall quantity
which they carry in their own bottoms. |

From the liver of the cod there are extracted feveral thoufand
cafks of good train-oil*. Befides all this, we ufe the long air
or fwimming badder, which lies along the Cod’s back-bone, This

* Our peafants do not melt it down, but throw it into a veffel, and fo let it diffolve
of itfelf. The oil extracted from Cod only (not reckoning that from other fat Fith,
as the Salhunde, Springere, and Marfviin) exported from Bergen annually, amounts
to 7000 cafks, and fometimes more, We reckon generally that 200 Cods yield a caf
of train-oil, ;

Is

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY

is dry’d, and fold by the name of Sunde-Maver. It is eaten by
fome people, and is teckoned to create an appetite, agreeable to
its name. oe
The Tunge, the Saal, Solea, an agreeable Fith of the Flounder tunes.

kind, for which reafon, not to repeat the defeription, I thall only
obferve, that the principal difference confifts in its being better
tafted, and having firmer flefh. Tungerne are in fhape rather
long than round, refembling the fole of the foot: and are caught

2
here in many places, but not in any great number.

SECT. VIIl.

Valrus, or Rofmul, and in our old Norvegian, Roftungus, vats.
Rofmarus, the Wallrufs, or Sea-Horfe, is feen fometimes on this
coaft, but not fo frequently as about Iceland or Spitsberg, where,
according to Marten’s Spitsberg Travels, chap. iv. they are found
in incredible numbers, feveral thoufands being often feen tope-
ther*. Their body and head are like thofe of 4 large cow :

. they have fhort hair on the skin like the Sea-Calf 3 but what is
moft remarkable, is their two large teeth, or tusks, which pro-
je& out of their mouth, and are full 18 inches long: thefe are
as good as ivory for any kind of turn'd work; and therefore
this creature is called by fome the SeasElephant. With thefe
teeth it is faid they bite, or occafionally faften themfelves to a
rock while they fleep; and they ule them alfo to dig in the
fand for mufcles, which ate their principal food. |

They are faid to lift their heavy bodies upon the flakes of ice,
and rocks, by the help of thefe teeth; where they are found
like the Sea-Calves. The anonymous author, whofe account of
the Whale-fithery is prefixed to Peyrerii’s Defctiption of Iceland,
relates, p. 114, what he fays he had been an eye-witnefs of,
namely, that where they are killing one of thefe creatures, feveral
more of the fame kind will come to their affiftance 3 which they
frequently do, and with their large teeth before-mentioned, make
a violent attack on any thing that oppofes them, Olig. Jacob.
informs us, in his Muf. Reg. p. 15, that the Wallrufi’s fierceft
battles are with the great White Bear ; from which we may con-
clude, that, like amphibious creatures, they fometimes feek the
dry land, or the mountains of ice that abound. in thofe feas.
Anderfon, in his Defcription of Iceland, p. 222, fays, that they

1s%

* A quite different Sea-Horfe fome of our fithermen pretend they have feen fome-
times, which has appeared to them to be 20 or 24 feet long, with the head, neck and
mane, which it generally holds above the water, exactly like thofe of a real horfe,

and not to be diftinguifhed, but by the fize: its colour, they fay, is as white as fnow ;
but of this there is no confirmation, |

have

160

Vas-Sild,

Ulk.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

have two breathing-holes in the forehead, and four fhort legs.
A Nordland fifherman -has affured me, of bis own knowledge,
that it is in vain to fhoot at them with balls; for.their hide is fo

| thick, that a good fharp harpoon is the only thing that will pierce

it. Ihave feen this creature dry’d at Leyden, in the gallery of
the Phyfic Garden ; but there it goes under the name of a Sea-
Cow, which creature it more refembles than a horfe, tho’ there is
a Sea-Cow different from this. :

The Vas-Sild, or Vas-Herring, is, to appearance, much like
the other Herring ; except that the head is fomething fhorter,
and the eyes as well as the body a good deal larger. They
bite at a hook and bait, but their flefh is not fo good as the
Herrings. |

The Ulk, or Marulk, the Sea-Scorpion, called by the Ichthyo-
logians Scorpius Marinus, becaufe its bite is poifonous: this Ron-
delet allerts upon experience, with this addition, that he cured a
child that was bitten by one of thefe creatures, by applying the
liver of this Fifh to the wound, Willoughby, Lib. iv. c. 38.
after this author, diftinguifhes them into two kinds; namely,
the {mall fort, which it is faid does not weigh a pound ; and the
larger. The latter alfo differs in fome other refpeéts from the
former, and is often four feet long: the head is bigger than the
whole body, and is of a hideous afpe@&: the mouth is a foot wide,
and therefore this Fifth is by fome called Wide-jaws; and with
us they ufe their name, as a figurative defcription of a perfon who
has a rematkably wide mouth. The body, which is reddith, is
covered with fmall fcales, much like a Snake’s: a ftrong fin,

- with fharp points or prickles, runs along their back. The liver is

the only part of this Fifth that is ufed, which yields good train-oil.
They are very voracious, and will deftroy not only other Fith

almoft as big as themfelves, but alfo many of the fea-birds, par-

%

ticularly the Gulls and Divers.

CH A P-

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

CREP ACR PEE VRe ONE

Concerning exfanguious Fith, or thofe without blood ; which are
either inclofed in a fhell, or are naked and defencelefs.

- Sect. I. Their general divifiion. Sect. Il. Of Oyfters, Top-Oy/fters, and thofe-

with a large fhell, long fhell, or foort fhell. Sucr. II. Mufcles, Pearl-
Mujfcles; and fome account of the Pearl-fifbery in Norway. Srcr. IV.
Cockles of various forts. Sect. V. Igel-kier, and Sea Hedge-hog. Srcr.
VI. Lobfters, and their advantageous fifbery in this country. Sect. VII.
Craw-fifh, Crabs, and Shrimps. Sect. VIII. Bkk-/prute, various kind of
Crofs-jifh, or Star-fifh, Manete, and Perle-Baand.

ck. Che a1:

ITHERTO I have treated of fuch Sea-animals, caught
about the coafts of Norway, as are properly called Fith;
thefe have bones, or cartilaginous fubftance, and blood in them.
I now come to certain kinds, which are very different, and by

IOI

Ariftotle, Lib. 1. Hift. c. iv. and Lib. iv. cap i. are divided into pissrence
four kinds of Animalia exfanguia; namely, the Soft kind, the vii

Cruftaceous,; the Teftaceous, and the Infects. Pliny makes but

three clafles of them, when he fays, Lib. ix. c. 28, “ Pifcium

quidam fanguine carent, de quibus dicemus. Sunt autem tria
genera. Imprimis que mollia appellantur, dein conteGa cruftis
tenuibus, poftremo teftis conclufa duris.’”’ I fhall adopt this laft
method of clafling thefe kinds, only inverting the order with
re{pect to their form and ufe. ieee aid
Firft, therefore, I fhall {peak of the teftaceous kind, or. thofe
that are confined in hard fhells, in which they live as it were ina
houfe; fuch are Oyfters, Mufcles and Cockles, I fhall after thefe
treat of the cruftaceous kind, that is, thofe which are furrounded
with a thin fhell, that is fhaped like, and juftly adapted 'to, their
bodies: of this fort are the Lobfter, the Craw-fifh, the Crab,

. the Shrimp, and the Sea Hedge-hog. In the third place I fhall
defcribe the naked, or foft and defencelefs fort : {uch are the Scuttle-
fifh, various kinds of Star-fifh, and other curious {pecies, to be
nam’d in their order. If thefe kinds were very numerous, I thould
treat of them alphabetically, as I have done in the preceding
chapters, in defcribing other fpecies: but as the difference in thefe
is much more perceptible; and the bounds I have prefcribed

Parr IL sd ile 3 myfelf

162

Oyfters.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

myfelf but narrow, I think it more eligible to follow the natural
order. This I avoided in my Account of Birds and Fithes, for
reafons afligned under their refpective heads.

SOBAC aD. Te

Oyfters, Offre: we have thefe, particularly on the weftern
coaft, both in quantity, fize and flavour, fuperior to almoft any
others in Europe; but this fpecies is very different from the
common fort. Thofe of the ordinary fhape and fize may be ~
arranged into three forts, according to the ground where they are
taken; namely, the Rock-Oyfters, the Sand-Oytters, and the
Clay-Oyfters : thefe laft are the worft fort, and not regarded when
the two former are to be had; for the thick flimy bottom the
live upon, gives them a kind of muddy tafte. The Sand-Oyfters
are preferable to thefe; and are of the fame kind with thofe,
which they take on the fands at Tondern and Fladftrand, in
Denmark.’ Thefe are of a good flavour, and free from that muddy
tafte ; but they are not fo large and full as the third fort, namely,
the Rock-Oyfters, fo called, becaufe they fftick to the rocks,
under high-water mark. Thefe, efpecially the larger fort of
them, which the Dutch call Groenbartjes, or Greenbeards, are
excellent: their fhells are much thinner *,; but the Fith is twice
as big as thofe taken at Tonder or Fladftrand. Thefe are very
fat, and have a good flavour, except it be in the four Summer
months ; during which time they are out of feafon with us, as in
other countries where they are found. Our fifhermen ufe a kind
of wooden pincers to break them from the rocks, with which
they take off one or two at at a time. |

Befides thofe that are eaten frefh in the country, great quanti-
ties are pickled, put up in barrels, and exported to many places
in the Baltic. There are fometimes pretty large pearls found in
them, but feldom of that purity or perfection as to have their full
luftre. It is faid the Crab and Star-fith often feed upon the
Oyfter; and that they ufe this ftratagem to prevent their being
pinched by the fhell; for while it is open they throw in a ftone,
which hinders it from fhutting clofe, and then the Oyfter becomes
an eafy prey tothem. They feem to exceed the wily fox in this
--* How thin and fat the Rock-Oyfters are; we may know by their tranfparency
when held againft a’ candle. The Sand and'Clay-Oyfters have foul fhells, three or
four times as thick as the latter, and confequently take up a» great deal more room in
the cafks. On the eaftern coaft they have Oyflers of a.monftrous fize. In the king’s
Mufeum at Copenhagen thete are two Oyfter-fhells, which were drawn up with a

cable at Goa, each of which weighs 224 pounds, they-are five feet in diameter, and
the Fith was fo large, that every one of the fhip’s crew had a confiderable piece

of it. :
par=

>

NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY. 163

particular ; for that animal, notwithftanding all his cunning, often
puts his paw, or even his tongue in the fhell, and then the Oyfter
holds him faft ; fo that he is fometimes drowned by the {pring-tides.
We have feen feveral inftances of this on the coat of Norway.
The Stor-Skal, the Large-thell, or Stor-Skizl, called alfo targe-tuetl.
the Kierling-Ore, the Scallop, PeGten, is another kind of Oyfter,
twice as large as the common fort. The thell of this Fith is thin,
white, and ftriated like the Cockle-fhell. The upper fhell is
quite flat, the under one concave. They are not found in any
great numbers, nor are they eaten here: the fhell only is ufed to
{tew or fcollop other Oyfters in. Thefe are alfo called Spanifh
Oyfters, becaufe the fhells are ufed to beautify grottos, foun-
tains and cafcades, and are imported for that purpofe from Spain,
as alfo from Iceland ; where this fort is faid to be more frequent,
and more beautiful than ours. |
The Top-Oyfters, Patella, the Limper, are alfo called Half- Top-Oyfters.
Oyfters, becaufe they have only one fhell ; this is round, convex
and ribbed, and of a dufky colour: this alone covers them ; on the
other fide they ftick faft to the rock. They are called alfo Elbow-
fhell, becaufe they refemble the elbow when the arm is bent.
They are not eaten here; but the French failors are very thank-
ful for them, when they come to our ports. M. Tournefort calls
them Yeux de Bouc, or Goats Eyes, and gives a full and anato-
mucal defcription of the Fifh contained within them, in his Voyage
du Levant, P. i. p.o4, & fequ. This looks more like a Snail
than an Oyfter, and has a {mall head, and two horns or Tenta-
cula ; but its fhell feems to entitle it to a place in this clafs.
The Lang-Skiel, the Long-thell, the Solen, or Razor-fhell, tong met.
confifts of two fhells of equal convexity, about fix inches long,
but hardly an inch broad. Thefe fhells are white within, and
covered on the outfide with a dark-coloured flimy fubftance,
which often peels off when they are dry. The Fith is not eaten
here, but only ufed for a bait *. Gefnerus calls it Dactylus, and
fays the Fifh keeps always one end of the thell open, in order to
put out its head in queft of food. 3
There are found here befide thefe, two different forts of Shell.
fifh, but fmaller, which I rank among the Oyfter-kind: thefe are
not larger than a crown-piece, and fome, much Iefs. Thefe two
forts differ not only in fize, but in the thell ; for the ribs on the
Surface of the one run like the radii from the center, whereas
they are fo many concentric circles on that of the other. Both.

* The colour of the Fith is reddith ; they often leave the thells, tho’ their bodies
feem yery delicate, and are fometimes feen {wimming in the water without them.

forts,

164

Enquiry.

Moflinger.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVWAY

forts, as far as I have been able to learn, go by the name of the
Short-fhell, and are ufed, as moft of the former, only for baits
on the fifhing-hooks. The Scots eat them like Oyfters. They
are found commonly covered on clay-ground. ‘The infide of
thefe fhells affords that fine chalky fubftance, which is reckoned
a very good abforbent, and is alfo produced by the thick common
Oyfter-fhells; but they muft be firft as it were calcined by the
air. Their manner of breeding can only be conjectured by the
{mall fhells, not bigger than the feale of a’Fith, which f¥ick fre-
quently to them ; which feems to proceed from that part of the
fhell which the Oyfter always keeps clofe, like a hinge. ,

If we enquire how all the fhells of thefe various kinds of
Oyfters grow, and widen with the enclofed Fifh, tho’ it is
not, like the Lobfters thin cruftaceous covering, as it were con-
creted from the body of the Fifh, but is evidently nourifhed
from without, and enlarged from the fand and flime of the fea ;
if we make this enquiry, I fay, we fhall hardly find any fatif-
factory account of it hitherto given. Nothing yet propofed will
fuperfede our enquiring after the fomething unknown, or the
occult quality of our old Ariftotelians, as they expreffed them-
felves ; for they, at leaft in the eyes of the world, would not
appear to be entirely ignorant, but had fomething to fay upon
every fubjed. a |

The wifdom of God is moft wonderfully difplayed even in
his’ minuteft works; and our knowledge is but very imperfe&,
not only with regard to thefe, but of the greater works of
creation, and their particular properties; tho’ this is an age which

would pretend to open all difficulties, like fo many locks, with

the mafter-key of demonftration *.

er Oe OE A

Maoflinger, or Cockles, Pe@iunculi, which we otherwife call, by
way of eminence, the Shell-fifh, are in plenty here as in other
places, namely, the common fort, and thofe which are alfo called
the Crow-fhell, from the crow, who is very fond of them, and
tries his skill by opening them in this manner: the bird. picks
the fhell up in his bill, and flies up very high, and then drops it
on the rocks, which breaks the thell to pieces. Thefe are pickled,
like Oyfters, for exportation. ) | eat

* The curious Frid. Chrift. Leffler, in his Teftaceo-Theologie, P. I; L.i. «. iv.
§. 116. advances fomething on this head; but at the fame time owns that we cannot
inveftigate the true caufe of this wonderful production, nor of many other particulars
in the works of nature. |

The

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

165.

The Oes-Skel, or Mutcle, differs a good deal from the former, oes.skel.

being of a larger fize, and is not reckoned fit to be eaten 3 but
they are only ufed, as fome of the aforefaid Shell-fith of the
Oyfter kind, for baits. In thefe fhells they fometimes find pearls,

that are purer and more valuable than thofe taken out of the |
Oyfter-fhells: but our right Pearl-mufcle is a third fort, and is.
found with us only in rivers and frefh water. Thefe differ in

fhape from the Sea-mufcles, the fhell being almoft round, and
flatter and broader than that of the common Mufcle. They
refemble them in colour, the outfide being black, and the infide
of a bright pearly blue. In moft parts of Norway, particularly
the weft fide, there.are rivers and brooks where thefe fort of
Mufcles are found. The right of the pearl-fifhery belongs to the
king, and is carried on at his Majefty’s expence. In the dio-
cefe of Chriftianfand there are the following pearl-rivers, which
are reckoned the beft in Norway. |

The river Gan, Oe tt |
river Nerims, & In the manor of Stavangers.
river Quaffims,

The river Lille, in Lyngdahil,

river Undals, | In the manor of Lifter

Roffelands, a little rivulet; and f and. Mandal,
fome other {mall brooks, | ae

The river Berge, and
Baafelands, a ctile brook, | to the manor of Nedenes.

The genuine pearls, which areannually taken about Midfummer in
thefe waters, are the property of her majefty the queen alone, as one
of the regalia of the kingdom of Norway. There is a manager

or intendant to prefide over the pearl-fifhery: the perfon who
is entrufted with this office at prefent, is the honourable M. Paul
Baumann, who, at my requeft, has been fo obliging, as to com-
municate to me his obfervations on the Pearl-mufele, and its pro-
perties: I fhall infert them in his own words, under the title of
Some Obfervations concerning the Pearl-mufcles, their Nature ‘and
Properties. “The form and fhape of thefe Mufcles are well

known. As long as they «are in the water ‘the Fith ‘is ufually”
almoft out of the fhell, much like’a fnail, dragging its houfe’

behind him: but notwithftanding the fhells are open while. they

continue in the water, yet they lie in fuch a manner, that one:

Part II. Uu | can-

166

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY.

cannot perceive the Fifth; for it hides itfelf, and part of the
fhell, in the fand. If they are taken haftily out of the water,
the Fifh may be feen out of the thell; but when he finds him.
felf out of his element, he retires flowly into it again, and then
clofes it. They are taken up with the hands, or with a fort of
wooden pincers, and fometimes one may take them up*by putting:
a twig into the fhell while it is open; upon which they imme-
diately clofe it, and hang fo faft to the twig, that they may be
eafily drawn out of the water. If they do not hit upon the open-
ing at once, the fhell clofes as foon as it is touched ; and confe-
quently this method then proves ineffeétual. They cannot lie upon
a hard or a rocky bottom, tho’ they fometimes try to fix themfelves
in fuch places: but if they are thrown alive upon a fandy bottom,
they will fix themfelves in lefs than 24 hours. The thick end of
the fhell is fixed in the fand, and the other part appears above
the furface of it ; but when they are {mall they are quite covered
with the fand. They often move themfelves, but fo flow, that
their motion is imperceptible, and can only be obferved by a little
track they leave behind them, like that of a fnail. It is a vulgar
error to imagine that they move themfelves to the furface of the
water to breed pearls, by imbibing the dew; and it is as ridi-
culous to think, that the pearls are the femen with which thefe
Mufcles propagate their fpecies: if that were the cafe, then the
greateft number of pearls would be found where there are the
greateft number of Mufcles; but experience fhows the contrary.
Without doubt thefe Mufcles propagate their fpecies like other

Shell-fifh, tho’ I have not been able to difcover the leaft diffe-
rence of fex between them About Midfummer one may per-
ceive, within fome of the fhells, a fort of clear femen, like the _
white of an egg, which in|a few weeks appears like {mall crains,
or eggs; this feems to me to be their {fpawn. Our fifhermen
generally find the pearl in that part of the Fith which is called
the beard in the Oyfter, and fometimes on both fides; but the
pearls are always flat on that fide that grows to the fhell. From
this we may conclude, that the fubftance of which pearls confift,
muft have been fluid at firft. As the pearls are frequently found
growing to the fhells, even thofe of the right water *, as well as
thofe with a reddifh caft ; and as thofe pearls that are faftened to
the shell are ufually of the fame colour with the shell, we may
conclude, that the pearl and shell are one fubftance. Some are
of opinion, that the Mufcle cannot produce the pearl of itfelf,

* ‘The word water is here a term of art, and fignifies the luftre of the fhell, as well
as the pearl, i 3
and

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY i647
and that it is fomething foreign to the Fish. The skini in which
the pearl is enclofed, is fo tranfparent on the fide next the shell;
that one may plainly fee the luftre and water of the pearl
through it; but one cannot fo well difcover the quality through
the other part of the skin, which is covered with a fort of flime.
The shells in which pearls are found, have generally fome blemish
in their shape, and differ from the reft, being crooked, short,
&c, and the larger the pearl is, the more obvious always is the
blemifh. Notwithftanding all this, one cannot; by the external
appearance, declare for a certainty whether fuch hells have pearls
m them ornot, and much lefs what water they are of 3 for the
pearls may have been damaged by fome accident, whilft they
were in their fluid ftate. A Mufcle may have more than one
pearl, and fometimes all of them of a good water. The greateft
number of pearls are of a reddifh brown 3 a good many are
white or grey, fome black, but the beft; which are very fearce,
are of a pure water, and excellent luftre. When the Mufcles are
found at the bottom of rivers that run with a pretty ftrong cur-
rent, the outfide of the fhells are always of a yellowifh brown ;
but on muddy ground, or in {tagnated waters, the fhell is gene.
rally black : however, one cannot fay that the ground, or the
colour of the fhell, indicates the pearls to be larger or f{maller,
better or worfe, or fewer in number. The Mufele may be open’d
without deftroying the Fifth, which will live after the pearl is
taken away 5; but it. is obferved, they never produce any sore
pearls.” So far Mr. Baumann. 3 j

O. Wormius jfays, in his Mufeum, p. 110, that he has had
fome Norway pearls not inferior to the Oriental. 1 have indeed
_ feen fuch myfelf ; but Imutt alfo obferve, that the number of thefé
is not very canfiderable *,

Sak. CT FV,

The Snegle, Sea-fnails, Cochlea, are called here Konuriger, or snegte:
Kukelurer. They are found on thefe coafts of various forts, partly
flicking like Oyfters ‘or Mufcles to the tocks, and partly lying
among the weeds, and in fandy bottoms.

The fhells that. are found in Norway are not fo large as thofe
that are brought from: the Indies to ornament our grottoes. The
largeft I have found are about as big as a middle-fiz’d pear, and
they are partly of that fhape; tho’ fome are round, and fome
\ * We meet with ‘Pearls in Norway, fome of which are of a clear white, and fhine

like filver. Indeed we fometimes find fuch as, for their fize and beautiful water, are
not inferior to the Oriental. Fridr. Chriftian Leffers Teftaceo-Theologie, P. II. L. i.

Ce 40 §. 314, 0
form’d

168

Bue-hummer.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

form’d like acone. Thefe look as if they were turn’d. T hey
are variegated with feveral colours, and many ftreaks, lines, and
circles. . ‘The. thells of fome are fmooth, thofe of others are
covered with\a white cretacéous fubftance; others thine like mother
of pearl}: fo that nature is hardly diverfified in fuch a beautiful
variety in any of its other produdtions, except: it be in flowers,
Hence we may admire the wifdom and contrivance of the great
Creator, and may fay with truth, “ Natura ludendo ferio agit.”
I have procured drawings of as many. different fpecies as I have
met with on thefe coafts, and have reprefented them in the plate.

The Bue-hummer, a particular fpecies of Shell-fith, which is
found here in abundance, but feldom feén in Denmark, unlefs it
be by accident; and is called the Hermit-fifh. It has the name
of Bue hummer becaufe the head and fore-part of thé Fifh are
formed fomething like a {mall Craw-fith. or Lobfter, with two
large claws, four {mall legs, and three long tentacula, which are
as {mallvas.a hair... The whéle fore-part. of the Fith, eyes, mouth,
and-all, is enveloped in a thin cruftaceous covering, like that of
a Lobiter ; but the reft of the body is inclofed in the fhell, being
foft and tender, and near two inches long. It much refembles a
Craw-fith, extracted out of the thell. The Hermits, or Buehum-
mers, are inclofed in a fhell of the Wilk-kind, one of the Conchz
Turbinate ; and it is of various fizes, from one to four inches’ in
length. Rondeletius, Lib. xvii. cap. Xli, mentions feveral forts of
this ftrange compofiton of land aud feasanimals, which may” be
called the Craw-fith-{nail, or the Snail-craw-fith : but among the
various forts he. deferibes, none of them is perfe@ly like this Nor-
way Bue-hummer. Geo. Marcerave alfo deferibes, in his Hitt.
Nat. Brafilie, Lib. iv.'c...21; fueh an animal, by the name
of Paranacare; which appears to be twice! as big" as ‘our Norve-
gian Fith; for he fays it is three fingers long, and that the body
is covered with a few hairs, which we do not find on the Bue-
hummer, >) | 1! in seat |

X

In-a work, ealled|Nova: Literaria Maris Baltici, ‘Anno 1699;

» Menfe April, p.118,.there is an article inferted by the learned

~Matth. Hen. Scachthios, then rector: in Kiertemynde, | to this

purpofe : “-Secandus eft cancellus turbinem>Norvegicum inhabi-
tans: ad.infulam Promontorii-Cartémindani:Romfoam, inter hau
feces retibus irfetitos, quatuor ejufmodi! cancellos:¢eeperint pifea-

+ In his magna ludentis nature varietas, tot colorum differentiz, tot figure, planis,
concavis, longis, lunatis, in orbem circumattis, dimidio, orbe. czefis, in dorfum. elatis,
lzvibus, rugatis, denticulatis, f{triatis, vertice muricatim Intorto,.. margmem 11 MUcrgs)
nem emiflo, foris effufo, intus replicato: Jam diftin@tione virgulata, crinita, crifpa,,
cuniculatim, peétinatim, imbricatim undata, 8cc, C. Plinius, Lib. ix. cap. 33. bs .

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NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY.

tores noftri, nec plures, nec pauciores. Mare Americanum id
genus animalculorum copiofe frequentat, ut habet Carolus Roche-
fort in Hiftoria Infularum Americanarum, Antilles a Geographis
vulgo appellatarum ; fed in hifce Balticis flu@ibus, nec poft, nec
ante id tempus, reperti funt Cancelli. Peculiaris Cancellorum eft
progenies, Americanis Cancellis admodum fimilis, ut ovum ovo,
nifi quod hic turbinem Norvagicum, ille naytili concham in hof-
pitium & corporis fui munimentum contra hoftium infidias eligat
Cancellus. Totius. animalculi precipua pars anterior caput eft,
cum afinexis pedibus & forcipulis. Hac parte corporis cancrum
quodammodo refert, tefta rubefcente munita: inferior autem pars,
a capite ad caudam, tenuis eft, imbecillis, nuda & mollis ad inftar
locuftarum, tefta carens, fed cuticula veflita, que inferitur conche,
duebus tamen pedibus, in acutum definentibus, tanquam retina-
culis exiftit, quibus forfan corpus in tefta retinet, ne elabatur.
Hiftoriam Cancellorum fatis accuratam defcripfit Gefnerus, quem
enaviter fecuti funt Aldrovandus, Johnftonius &alii, fed nullam
apud eos inter variantes figuras delineationem invenimus, huic
noftro Cancello fimillimam. Qua ratione in littus noftrum jaCtati
fint hofpites hi infrequentes, autumare nequimus, nifi forfan e
Norvegia vel aliunde navium carinis huc venientium adheferint,
eafque ad Infulam Romfoe, ubi frequens ad anchoras navium eft
flatio relinquerint: namque turbines Norvagici, quibus teguntur,
in mari hoc Balthico non ante funt reperti, fed e Norvegia ad
nos transferuntur. Hoc modo in freto Helfingoram verfus, Cancer
Moluccanus Anno 1633, captus eft, & Mufeo Wormiano Hafnie
dicatus.” |
Thefe Hermits, or Craw-fith-fnails, are faid to {wim, or row
themfelves along, by the help of their extended claws, pretty
quick. It is obferved that they ufteu quit their fhell, to {wim the
quicker; but they return again, in order to enter their former
habitation ; tho’ in this they find themfelves fometimes prevented
by an envious neighbour of their own kind, who thinks it more
convenient than his own; and when he has taken poffeffion, he
defends himfelf in it, as if polleffion gave hima right to it *.
The fame power do thefe creatures alfo exercife over the
- Wilks, when they either want a new habitation, or when they
are grown too big for their fhells. A conchis nudi nafcuntur,
fed purpuras ac turbines ¢ fuis pellunt conchis, iifque vefcuntur, ut
eorum occupent domicilia, Cum in amplitudinem majorem excre-

* Mich. Bernh. Valentini, in his Mufeum Mufeorum, Lib. iii. p. 503, perhaps on
that account, gives them the name of Soldier-fith. He looks upon them to be a fort
of Sea-fcorpions, and fays that the Indians prepare an healing-oil from them, which is
reckoned good for rheumatic and other pains in the joints,

Parr If. xX x verunt,

169

170

Igelkier.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAN.

verint, quam ut primis teftis capi queant in teftam ampliorem
tanquam in domum novam migrant.” Worm. Mut p 2Fo*) =
have fometimes kept them alive a few days in water, to fee how
readily they goin and out. Ambrofe Pareus, Lib: xxv. p:-684,
calls this little creature Bernard I’ Eremite; but why I do not
know, for he gives no account of the origin of that name.

) S- ByCrdn Ms

The Igelkier, or Julkier, the Sea-urchin, called alfo Krake-'
Baller, perhaps becaufe the crow feafts upon them when’ he finds:
them lying on the rocks at low-water. It is otherwife known by
the name of Echinus Marinus, and Pomum Marinum, the Sea

apple, a name that reprefents the fize and figure of thé thin and

tender fhell that furrounds this Fifh, which certainly is one of the
{trangeft animals contained in the fea. They are feen here every
day, and are very common on our coaft. | They differ pretty much
in fize, for fome are found not bigger than a wallnut ; others are
equal to a large apple; and I have two in my cabinet as big as the
head of a new-born infant. Their fhape is likewife different, for
fome are like a cone, others are quite round, excepting the under
part, which is pretty flat; and of this laft fort we have the

greateft number. The fhell is covered with a vaft number of -

{mall fharp prickles, like the briftles of a hedge-hog, whence its
Latin name; but thefe prickles are not larger than a {mall pin at
the moft. I have indeed feen a {mall kind, that has had them as

dong again as the largeft fort. They probably fhed the prickles

once a year, and have new ones, which their finenefs {eems to re-
quire. When they are juft taken out of the fea they have a
greenifh luftre, which is ines beautiful ; but their greateft beauty
appears when they are dry’d or boil’d, and the prickles are rnbb’d
off. This confifts in certain regular and proportionable ftripes;
interchanged among one another, of a cylindrical form, and running
from the top to the bottom. Some of thefe are white, others
of a dark red, others again of a light red, or orange colour. Thefé
coloured ftripes are again ftrewed over with as many white little
knobs as there were originally prickles. — )
I fhall now defcribe the internal part of this creature, which
will be more difficult to conceive, without feeing it, than the
external, When this beautiful fhell is broken (which may eafily

-be done by fqueezing it a little) there is found in it a quantity

* Swammerdam afferts that the Bue-hummer never quits his fhell ; and in his Bible
ef Nature, Chap. xii. p.64, that author treats all that is faid about it as a meer fable
without any foundation eae ¢

12)

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

of flime and water, and only a {mall Fith of a black, or dark red
colour ; and from this little body there runs, into all the turnings
and windings of the fhell, a great number of fine threads ; thefe
{eem compofed of a thicker flime, or perhaps are a kind of guts:
they have a communication with the external prickles; and be-
tween thefe ufually there is difpofed, in ftripes, a great deal of
yellowifh fpawn. . The Fifh lies in the fhell ftretched from the
bottom to the top and there is, in that part, a fmall, and almoft
imperceptible opening, like ‘the anus: through this the excres
ments pafs, which confift of feveral fmall black grains. The
mouth;; as I obferved before, is on the flat fide; it is extremely
curious, and is formed of five bones, part convex, and part. con-
cave, all running to a {mall point, where they join together like
‘the bill of a bird, and look fomething like a flower. Gedfner,
Lib. iv. de Aquatil. p. 416, defcribes this creature pretty exaétly,
_and fays of the mouth in particular, that in the whole ocean there
is nothing more curious, or more beautiful. <“ Tam mirabili
ftupendoque artificio funt conftruGa & coelata, ut nihil fit in toto
mari elegantius, {peCtatuque jucundius.” |

The Sea-urchin is found ona fandy bottom, and rolls himfelf
about with his prickles wherever he pleafes. When the tide
happens to fall on a fudden, they become a prey to the crow,
and other birds. Gafp. Schottus relates, in his Phyfica Curiofa,
L. x. c. xv. that when they (probably by natural inftin@ given
them, and all other creatures, by the wife Creator, for their
prefervation) perceive ftormy and bad weather coming on, they
lay hold of a pebble to make themfelves heavy, and with that
fix themfelves to the bottom of the fea, which the failors look
upon as a fign of bad weather *- He alfo relates that the Sici-
lians, whofe tafte muft be very different from ours, reckon this
creature to be delicate food ; they break the fhell, and eat the
anfide raw with fpoons. Qui cochleari utuntur cum ovis &
excrementa deglutiunt. Hos per jocum dicebam abfumere cum
ovis actum parvum & magnum (i’ atto piccolo e grande) dicere
volebam urinam & ftercora eorum +}. How this fhell (which,
without doubt, isan excellent abforbent) may be ufed to advan-
tage in phyfic, is fhown by Ol. Wormius, in Mufeo, p- 261.
_ * This was known in Pliny’s time; for he fays, < ‘Tradunt, feevitiam maris pree-
fagire eos, correptifque operari lapillis mobilitatem pondere ftabilientes. Nolunt volu.

tatione fpinas atterere, quod ubi videre nautici, ftatim pluribus ancoris navigia infree-
nant. H. Nat. Lib. ix. c. xxxi. oY

T Dr. Shaw, in his Voyage to the Levant, calls this creature a Sea-ege; and fays,

that it is only the roe that is fit to be eaten with pepper and vinegar, particularly at the
time of the full moon. See T. i. p. 336.
We

171

Lobiter.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

We have alfo another, and coarler {pecies of the Echinus, very
different from the former kinds; which I more particularly call

‘Hericius, vel Erinaceus marinus, the Sea-Hedge-hog. ‘Thefe are

found on our coaft, tho’ but feldom; and I do not know that I
have ever feen more than two of them, one of which is in my
poffeflion. The body is round, about the fize of an orange, and
nearly of the fame fhape. -The mouth and anus are placed at the
top and the bottom, as in the other kind. From this I conclude,
that the conftruction of the internal parts likewife 1s fimilar in
both kinds; for I dare not open that in my poffeffion, becaufe it
would utterly fpoil it. The difference in the external parts is
very great, for the prickles are for the moft part near four inches
long, and as thick as a goofe-quill. They are quite hard and
compact, except that there isa little marrow in them. At one
end they ftand irregularly, but at the other end they are regu-
larly difpofed in ten rows, there being five prickles in each row:
two or three of thefe rows ftand clofer together than the reft, fo ©
that one cannot put a finger between; then there follows a {pace
twice as wide: and it has 50 prickles on the fides, which are
remarkably large. On the flat fide underneath, and near the
mouth, there are feveral fmaller prickles ; but Icannot juftly fay in
what order they ftand, becaufe moft of them are broken off in the
fpecimen I preferve. The round body, or fhell itfelf, is not, like
the common kind, {mooth at the bottom, but is rather furr’d .
over ; but this I cannot particularly defcribe, as I have never feen
them perfe&, or frefh out of the water. Amongft the foreign
writers, whether ancient or modern, I cannot find the leaft inti-
mation of any thing that refembles this fpecies.

Oe oe ean ta

I now come to thofe fea-animals which have a hard and thin
fhell, form’d like a veftment, which yields to the motions of the
body and limbs. Of this kind are Lobfters, Craw-fifh, Crabs,
and Shrimps. | | :

The Lobfter is formed like a Craw-fifh, but is five or fix times
as large; with eight fmall, and two large claws or feet *- From
Eafter to Midfummer they are fat and plump, and fit for the

* Whether there may be amoneft Lobfters, as amongft feveral other Fifh, extra-
ordinary large and giant-like individuals, I cannot afcertain; but I am credibly
informed, that at Udveer, in the parifh of Evenvigs, there is often feen by the fifher-
men a kind of over-grown Lobiters, fo large and frightful that they dare not attack
them; and it is faid that there is a full fathom betwixt the tips of their claws, by
which one may judge of their fize, tho’ they are never feen entirely ; for they hide
themfelves in the weeds and rufhes, which all Lobfters are fond of.

table.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY. 173

table. »Afterthat time they fall away, and they likewife caft their
fhell. To fupply ‘the place of the old fhell, a new one, that
is thinner,*is immediately prepared by nature, which, in lefs than
‘eight days, acquires‘almoft the fame degree of hardnefs as the
ether::, The male Lobfter is known by the tail, which is narrower

. than that of the female; and. it feems as if it were pinched in.
The female:is. broadér, and ‘is reckoned the moft delicate. They
keepvon thei fandy bottom and in the gravel, or in the cracks of
_ the rocks:} -bat moft frequently amongft the weeds and rufhes, -
from which they probably’ receive the greateft nourifhment.
Phey eat alfo various forts of young Fifth. The greateft enemy
the Lobfter: has isi the: Sea-wolf, who likes every thing that is
_ hard to exercife his teeth upon. When the Lobfter is purfued,
and wants to get away ina hurry, they fay he bends his tail, and
by prefling it; fhoves himfelf along backwards; fo that the head
is dragged after the hind-part. Formerly they ufed to take Lob-
{ters here with woodem pincers; but as they are hurt by being
{queezed, and ufually die two or three days after, they no longer
make ufe of that method. In thofe places, from whence they method of
export them alive in Lobfter-buffes, they are caught only in what tbe
we'call Teiner. © This is a machine compofed of feveral hoops
covered with a fishing-net ; at each end there is a long and nar-
row entrance, fo that. the Lobf{ter, when he is once in, cannot
eafily find his way out again. ‘In fome places they ufe teiner,
like eel-baskets, made of the roots of juniper-trees, which they’
find the beft for this purpofe: in thefe they generally hang fome
other Fish for a bait, and in each teiner that is faftened with a
rope, and thrown into the water, they catch about ten or twelve
in a night.

How many thoufands there are in the whole annually catch’d Numbers and
and exported may be judged by this; that from the beginning Beet.
of the prefent century there have been in our ports every Spring,
at leaft 30 or 40° Lobfter-buffes from London and Amfterdam ;
which are loaded with live Lobfters only. Thefe veffels are
contrived for the fervice, every one being provided with a well,
or clofe room, with a great number of holes bored through the
bottom, and big enough to hold 10 or 12000 Lobfters in the
falt-water, their proper element. About the beginning of the
Spring they make better voyages than they do in Summer, when
the air begins to grow warm. If the voyage be prolonged by
calms or contrary winds, the Lobfters, being too much confined,
are apt to die ; and this particularly happens «f there comes thun-
der, which they fay hurts them more than any thing. In this cafe

PaRT II. Yy the

174

Craw-fifh.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORYW4yr

the proprietor makes a bad voyage, and is a great lofer by it ;
for fuch a cargo is valuable, and very profitable, when they arrive
fafe to thofe populous cities, where they are fold to a great
advantage. A Lobfter in Norway is valued at no more than
two dkillings, or a penny fterling: this is a fix’d price when a
Lobfter is eight inches long, or above, which is the ftandard
authorized by the government ; but if they be lefs, or want any
of the claws*, they are fold for one {killing. At this low rate
they produce annually. 10,000 rix-dollars in the diocefe of Stac
vanger alone, fince the public, within thefe twenty years, has
encouraged this fifhery, by providing buffes, which export them

from Stavanger, Egarfund, and other ports; but for the reafons

mentioned above they can make but one voyage, which muft be
in the Spring. The beft places or harbours for Lobfters, in each
of which three or four bufles may be loaded every year, are Sku-
defnzefs, Akre, Praefte-havn, Vaage or Akre i Buk von See,
Stierne Oe, Hvidings Oe, T'anan and Tananger. Eaftward of Lin-
defnzefs. there are caught and exported alfo a confiderable number
of Lobfters,but I have no particular account of the quantities.
That foreigners may not run away with the greateft profit by
an early voyage, it is eftablifhed, that in each of the before-faid
harbours a Norway veffel muft be loaded, before they have per-
miffion to fell any to foreigners. In Sundhordlehn we have alfo,
within thefe few years, carried on the Lobfter-fifhery, and annually
export them. In fome parts of Norway they pickle Lobfters
with vinegar and fpices. The peafants in many places do not
feem to like this fort of Fifh; and tho’ Lobfters and Oyfters are
to be had in fuch plenty, and are reckoned a delicacy by fome,
they do not regard them. |

SECT. VIL

Craw-fith are found in fome of the rivers in the diocef of Ag-
gerhuus, particularly at Friderickftad ; but in this part of the
country they will not thrive. Of this a correfpondent of credit
has aflured me from his own experience. He has endeavoured to
breed them in frefh water at his country-houfe, but to no pur-

* That the great number of Lobiters crowded together in one place fhould not bite ~
off one another’s claws, which they are apt todo, they tye up the claws of every one
of them with packthread.

+ Mr. Danckertfon, receiver of the duties at Storoen, gives an account that, in
this prefent year, from his fifhery alone a quantity of Lobfters, to the amount of
6000 rix-dollars at prime coft, havebeen exported. The inhabitants of Zirkfee in
Holland firft began this trade, and enriched themfelves furprifingly by it. Now the
Englifh likewife carry on this fifhery, and catch a great many Lobfters on the coaft
ef Holland. |

pote.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 145

pofe f. In Sundfiord we find a fort of Craw-fith which I fhould rather
take to be young Lobfters, if they were not quite diftinguifhed
by their particular form. Ihave, for this reafon, exhibited a figure
of one in the plate annexed. The two foremoft claws are of an
extraordinary, and feemingly unproportionable length; they are
even longer than the whole body: they are flender, and of a pen-
tagonal fhape. The fhell on the back and fides is variegated with
particular marks, like hieroglyphics. I have never feen. but
one of them, which is remarkably different from every thing I
have met with of that clafs. Gefner reprefents, cap. XIV. p. 12.4,
a particular Craw-fifh, which he calls Leo Marinus, or the Sea
Lion ; for what reafon I cannot fay ; the comparifon muft feem too
far fetch’d. This fpecies however agrees pretty well with ours, in
re{pect to the two long claws 3 but then the body is much fhorter,
and, according to his defcription, it is furr’d, or covered with little
prickles; neither has it any thing of thofé charaGters or refem~
blances of letters imprefled upon it, which chiefly diftinguifhes
that I have defcribed from other kinds; fo that I cannot look
upon them to be the fame *. |
Crabs, Cancri Marini, are caught here in plenty, of which there Crabs:

are three forts, namely, the large Tafke-krabber, which is reddith
on the back, and white under the belly. Thefe are found on a

t Car. Linnzeus fays, in in his Fauna Suecica, p. 358, that Craw-fith were not {een
in Sweden till the reign of King John III. who, among{t other things, is celebrated
for importing Craw-fifh, and breeding them in his own country.

* Since I have wrote this account, I find that Ol. Wormius has taken notice of the
fame Norvegian Craw-fith or Lobfter, and has given it the name of the King of the
Lobfters, and alfo the Letter-Lobfter. As he has not given a figure of it, I fuppofe
it will be the more agreeable to find one here, which I have taken care to have very
exact; and the more to illuftrate the fame, I thall quote a few words from that author
on this fubject: “ Quem alii Aftacum medium, feu mediz magnitudinis, Norvegi
Hiummer-Konge, feu Regem Aftacorum vocant (his name is not known here at
prefent) nos non inepte Aftacum Literatum, quod in cruftis caudam tegentibus lite-
rarum quarundam grandium & quafi hieroglyphicarum notas oftentet—Meus Aftacus
Literatus longitudine eft pedis unius. Chele feu forcipes, ubi extenfi re€ta linea, funt
craflitie paulo majore pollice, totius corporis lineamentis majori Aftaco fimilis, nif
quod chelee in longitudinem protendantur & minores fint. Dimidium enim pedem
zequant & antequam findantur, quatuor in longum exporrectis dotantur prominentiis,
alternatim duplici & fimplici_dentium ordine confpicuis, inter quos finus ad fummum
excurrunt quatuor, eleganti fpectaculo—In dorfi cruftis note conjpiciuntur nigricantes
(in my fample it is a rifing in the fhell itfelf, with no difference of colour, which igs
all over a kind of ftraw-colour, intermixed with red here and there) quze prifcas mona-
chorum literas quodammodo referunt, utrinque fex, quarum prima a cauda numeranda
T, fecunda & tertia E, quarta & quinta L, fexta I, utcunque exprimunt ea figura,
qua in vetuftis manufcriptis codicibus vifuntur. Hunc Aftacum illum eff crederem,
quem Rondeletius Aftacum parvurn vocat, nifi-plebs forficibus carere diceret, Nofter
enim quatuor primos forficibus dotatos obtinet pedes, ut Aftacus major.” Muf,
Wormian. p. 249. All that I can fay further is, that the figures, letters, or hiero-
glyphic characters, reprefented by the force of imagination, are not the fame in all,
but a “* Lufus natura elegans quidem fed incertus.”

fandy

196 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWVAY.

fandy bottom, and are in feafon from Michaelmas-day to Chriftmas,
but reckoned to be fatter during the increafe, than they are at the
decreafe of the moon They are caught in a triner, in the fame
manner as the Lobfters are, and are reckoned by fome as well tafted,
elpecially when’ they have a good deal of {pawn. The female
Crab has a broader tail than the male, to cover the private parts,
and both fexes have double genitals, according to Anderfon’s Ob-
fervation, im his Defcription of Iceland, p. 175. I have before
obferved this particular of Gul-haaen. I have alfo mentioned the
Crabs artifice in throwing a ftone between the fhells of the Oyfter
When open, fo that it cannot fhut ; and by that means feizing it
asa prey. On the other hand, the Crab is conquered by the Fel,
which twines itfelf about that creature’s claws, and by {queezing
itfelf together, breaks them off, and fucks them with great
eagernefs. Pliny tells us, Lib tx. c. 31. that Crabs fight with
one another as the rams do, by butting again{t each other with
the fmall fharp horn they have on their heads: but that they
fhould be at a certain time transformed into Scorpions, is not at
all probable.’ ‘¢ Sole cancri fignum tranfeunte & ipforum cum
exanimati fint corpus transfigurari in fcorpiones narrantur in ficco.”?
Garnater. The Garnater, or Duck-crab, is a {maller fort of Crab, with
a grey fhell. ‘Thefe keep near the fhore, fo that one may take
them up with one’s hands; but they are only ufed for baits.
Thefe, as well as feveral other kinds of Crabs, and fuch flow
crawling {pecies, feem to be ordained by the wife and good Crea-=
tor, as food for the whole tribe of Flat-fifh, which alfo are
flow in their motion, and ufually live on the fandy bottom, and

live chiefly on thofe crawling kinds.
eee The Fanfe, or Trold-krabber, the Prickly Crab. Our fifher.
ber. men give it the latter name, Trold-krabber, becaufe it is not fit
to eat. It is alfo called by fome the Sea-fpider, probably on ac-
count of its long legs, which, on fome that I have in my pof-
feflion, are a foot long ; though the body is not much bigger than
_ a Duck Crab, only a little thicker. The fore-part in this kind
is oval, and there is a pretty long horn growing from the fore-
head, which is divided at the end into two points. The body, as
well as the long legs of this Crab, is covered with prickles. On
this account Olig. Jac. in Mufeo Reg. p. 112, calls this fort
Cancer Spinofus. Matth. Hen. Schattius fays, that the Trold-
krabber (though he does not call it by any particular. name, for
the names were entirely unknown to him, but by the defcription
he muft mean this kind of Crab) by changing its colour, prog-
nofticates a fudden change of weather. ‘‘ Rarum certe eft na-
ture

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NATURALHISTORY f NORWAY.
ture f{pe€taculum, in quo hoc peculiare deprehendimus fepius,
quod cum ftatus coeli pluvius, & madide ventorum procelle in-
gruant, ex omni tum parte nigrefcat tefta tanquam pice obducta,
ierenitate autem coeli inftante, in rubedinem, & quidem minia-
tam, dilutam vergat. ‘Quoties itaque hanc teftam colores mu-
tare videmus, toties aeris temperamenti mutationem, vaticinari
‘audemus, ut fafti tam certi non fint, in dubio cceli ftatu. indi-
cando, quam dictum in hac tefta indicium.’’ Nova Litterar. Mar.
-Balthici Anno 1699, Menf.' April. p. 118. This author’s obfer-
vation does not agree with mine; for on feveral which I have by
me the red is quite unchangeable. Juft after thefe were taken,
being hung out of a window in the fun,a fort of black unctuous
matter, almoft like pitch, flowed from them. I fuppofe Mr.
Schachtius had obferved this fluid diftill from them in the fame
manner, and probably a change of weather might enfue by acci-
dent ; which made him draw too hafty a conclufion: for when the
creature is quite dry it prognofticates' a change of weather no
longer. | |

Reeger, the Shrimp, Squilla Marina, called by fome Hopper, shrimps.

becaufe of its quick and leaping motion, may be look’d upon as
a Sea’Craw-fith in miniature, and are very well known in Den-
mark: they are found on the Eaftern coaft, particularly in Chri-

ftiania-fiord ; and, like the Salmon, they generally keep about -

thofe places where the rivers -difembogue themfelves into the fea.

py Ch Val,

After the cruftaceous tribe I come to the fpecies of the exfan-Blekipratte:

guineous inhabitants of the ocean, which are foft,and have no ‘hell
or covering. I fhall firft treat of the Spoite, Blekfprutte, the
Sepia, or Ink-fifh, called alfo by fome the Sea-gnat. Some authors
call it by the name of Sepia, or Loligo. It is one of the moft
extraordinary creatures in the ocean for fhape, and is not eafily
defcribed without the affiftance of a-drawing 5 nor can any one
form a perfect idea of it, without feeing the animal itfelf; for it
affumes various forms by the motions of its fkin and arms. ‘The
length of that which I keep preferved in fpirits of wine is about
nine inches, or a little more, and it is near two fingers thick ; fo
that probably it was but a young one, for authors fay they are
generally much larger ; and I have lately procured a dry’d one,
which is two feet long; the body is almoft round, and refembles
-a fmall bag, and is blunt at both ends*: but the head is the

ParRT II. ; ZZ moft

* I have feen fome that are almoft pointed at one end, and have no tail. In the
. General

178

NATURAL HISTORY of VMORWAY.'

moft remarkable part. This has two large eyes, and a mouth like
a bird’s beak ; above which there ftand eight long arms, -or horns,
likea ftar, and each horn is oftangular, and cover’d witha number
of {mall round balls, which are fomething larger than a pin’s head,
There are at the back part of the head two of thefe horns, twice
as long as the reft, and broader towards theend. On each fide
of the body there are two {kinny membranes, with which the
animal covers itfelf all over, being firft rolled together ; and it
is faid that it can raife itfelf above the furface of the water, and
leap pretty high, making ufe of thefe membranes like wings.
From this defcription we may conclude, that nature produces
but few animals of fo extraordinary a ftru@ure in the feveral parts.
The interior conftruCtion of this creature is not lefs wonderful:

’ when it is opened there is found hardly any flefh within the {kin ;

there runs a long and flat bone the whole length of the back, in
{hape almoft.like the blade of a knife.. This bone is known at
the apothecaries by the name of Os Sepiz, as has been mentioned
before in the article of Whales; that Fith being greatly plagu’d
by this little creature. The fore-part of the body or tkinny bag,
above-mentioned, is quite filled with a black fluid, which being
feen through the ikin, makes the Fifh appear of a blue colour,
though the fluid is of a fine black, and may ferve for ink to
write with. When they are in danger thefe creatures difcharge
this black fluid. Hence they are called Spute, or Spoite, which
makes the water all round them appear black and muddy ; and

_ thus the creature makes his efcape, by rendering itfelf, as it were

by magic, invifible to his purfuers.
This isa wonderful gift of nature, for the prefervation of -a

creature otherwife quite unarmed and helplefs*. If any of this

black fluid happens to drop upon one’s hand, it burns like a
cauftic ;, and this fenfation doubtlefs would be more violent, if it
was to get into the eyes. The fame liquor is very good to dip
a bait in for a fifhing-hook, and the whole Fifh is excellent for

that purpofe, which is the only ufe that is generally made of it.

Concerming this Fifh’s method of breeding, a very creditable cor-
refpondent has given me a furprifing account,’ that is agreeable
to. its, other properties, This gentleman, and many more wit-

General Colleétidn. of Voyages and Travels, as alfo in the London Magazine for
March, 1750, p. 120, there is a print of this Fifth, by the name of the Ancornet, or
Scuttle-fith, where*the tail, under the fharp pointed end, fpreads itfelf wide on both
‘fides, and forms-a fort of a crefcent.

* Contra metum. & vim fuis fe armis quaeque defendit. Cornibus Tauri, Apri
dentibus, morfu Leones. Alice fuga fe, alize occultatione tutantur. Attramenti effu-
fione Sepiz, torpore Torpedines, &c. , Cicero de Nat. Deor. Lib. ii, c, 50.

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NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

neffes, have obferved a hundred, or even a thoufand young ones,
crowded together in the uterus of the female, without any
motion ; till at laft they eat their way through, upon which the

parent dies. Thefe, if females, only furvive till they are devoured

in their turn, by their own offspring. Pliny, who makes fome
difference betwixt the Sepia and the Loligo, which I do not un-
derftand, writes of them thus: “ Loligo volitat extra aquam fe
efferens, quod & pectunculi faciunt, fagittee modo. — Sepiarum ge-
neris mares varil, & nigriores, conf{tantiequ emajoris. Percu fix tri-
dente feemine auxiliantur, at i€@o mare feemina fugit. Ambo autem
ubi fenfere fe apprehendi, effufo attramento, quod pro fanguine
his eft, infufcata aqua abfconduntur.”

In the laft century our peafants looked upon this Cuttle-fith to
be a dangerous and ominous creature: they called it an amazing’
fea-prodigy, when they catched one near Katvig in Holland, in
the year 1661. See Olear. Gottorff. Mufeum, p. 42, where that
author might reafonably be furprized that. a Fifth well known to
the ancients fhould feem fo great a prodigy. | a

«79

The Kors-fisk, or Kors-trold, the Stella Marina, Star-fith, or Star-Am,

Sea-ftar, is an extraordinary kind of Fifh, divided into ‘man

{pecies ; of which I fhall (as I have done through this whole
work) only deferibe thofe that are found on our coafts : amone tt
thefe are fome which I cannot recolle& to have feen any where
elfe. This creature in general confifts of a round body; about
two inches in diameter, and without a head *, From this central
part there extends on all fides, according to the kinds, five or
more, even to ten points or legs, like the rays of a ftar. Thefe
are hardly four inches long, and aie of the fame fubftance with
the body, which is neither flefh, bone, nor cartilage. ’ This’ fub-

{tance being et ee ee tough, pli tat ac os beieele, sa éafily
broken, juft like a bit of bread: there. ishowever a certain fort
of them that is rather tougher, and will bend without: breakin on
They are generally covered with a flefh-coloured. or ‘yellowith
skin ; they are. furr’d underneath, fomewhat in the manner of
velvet fhag, that is ufed for lining cloaths. - In thé center of this
{tar there is an aperture, and under it a hollow place, not fo bi

as a fixpenny piece. In this place it is to be fuppofed both the
mouth and the anus are fituated }. From this aperture there are

con-

* A particular fort are found here, their bodies not fo big as a fixpenny-piece,
quite black, and with five legs or branches, as fmall towards the body as at the ex.
tremities, which in other Star-fith are much thicker towards the center.

. Tt Monf. Baker a fait quelques experiences fur les Polypes fechés. Il a cru y avoir
‘découvert l’anus, mais les obfervations de Monf. Trembley & ce que nous en avons

A
vu

| 180

Sea-fun.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

continued feveral longith flits or hollows, like fo many cracks,
furr’d all over. Thefe are covered with feveral regular rows of
little round protuberances ; and upon each of thefe, in fome forts,
there is another {mall protuberance ; fo that what is called Lufas
Nature by fome, is the mark of a quite different {pecies. They
keep on the fandy bottom, or elfe on the fides of the rocks, where
they crawl about, and ferve for food to many other forts of Fith,
as alfo to the fea-gulls, and other birds of that kind. Ie is faid
they ‘have ftrength to crufh a Mufcle to pieces, but their rays.
often in the attempt happen to get in between the fhells, and are
nipped off; fo that fometimes, as the proverb fays, the biter is
bitten.

As thefe are called Sea-ftars, we have alfo here a fearcer fort,
of which I have three fpecimens by me, under the name of the
Soe-foele, or Sea-fun ; but it is not called fo by the Norvegians *,
but by the Hollanders, who have frequently found it in the Weft
Indies, and there given it the denomination of Zee-fonne, or Sea-

_fun, according to George Marcgrave’s account, in his Hift. Nat.

Brafilie, Lib. iv. cap. xxii. .Zoophyton aliud hic reperitur
(Stella arborefcens Rondeletio & Gefnero) nautes vulgo een See-
fonne. Ex centro, quod xquabat groffum Mifnicum & cavum
erat, acin fui medio quinquangulare habebat foramen inftar ftelle,
tenuiffimis quafi denticulis donatum. Quinque rami erafli prodi-
bant, qui deinde, inftar arboris, in multos alios ramos minores
difpergebantur varie inter {fe inflexos, omnes rotundi & quafi coral
liformes, ita ut orbem facerent. Materia fragilis inftar ftelle.”
This defcription reprefents pretty exaly the moft farprizing and
leaft known European Star-fifh, or Kors-trold. It differs from all
the reft in this, namely, that the legs terminate like branches, with
{mall twigs, and chef twigs again divide into the fineft fibres
imaginable. Each of thefe is curl’d up, and allare full of {mall
incifions crofs each fibre. This looks very curious, when every one
of them is obferved fingly ; but when all the curls are feen in-

twined together in ‘a confufed manner, they put one in mind of

the poet's defeription of Medufa’s head, every hair of which,
according to the fable, Minerva transformed into a fnake, for
polluting her temple by her lafcivious intercourfe with Neptune,

vii nous mémes, ne nous permettent pas de I’en croire, Le Polype rend les fuperflu-
ités de fes alimens par la bouche méme, par laquelle ils font entrés. Biblioth. Rai-
fonnée, T. xxxvii. p..267.
* The proper Norvegian name I could not learn for a great while, but at laft I find
it ts Soe-navle,
the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORYVAY.

the god of the fea}. This ftrange and wonderful Star-fithy or
Kors-trold, is faid to be only the young, or perhaps only a grain
of the roe of that great and frightful fea-monfter, which is call’d
here Kraake, and which fhall be defcribed in the following chap-
ter. But as far as I could get information from feveral fither-
men, who all agree in their accounts, this cannot poffibly be true.
{ choofe rather, from its conne&ion with Neptune, and the re-
femblance it bears to the head on Minerva’s fhield, to give it the
name of Caput Medufe, or Medufa’s head. | :

I OT

The Manzte, the Sea-nettle, Urtica Marina, which we call Sca-nettle,

Soe-nelde, is a fofter fort of thofe creatures, which we call’here
by the common name, Trold, or Sea-trold. Its fhape is round,
almoft like a fmall plate, convex above, and underneath flat, or
rather a little concave. It is throughout foft, fmooth, and tranf-

parent, and feems a kind of flime, or jelly, though it adheres
together pretty firmly, and is mark’d with a crofs, fomewhat

like a flower-de-luce, inthe middle. Thefe creatures are blue
white or red; fome of them have many branches underneath,
Thefe are ufually fomething larger than the common fort, and of
a dark red. The Manzten abounds with a corrofive poifon ; and
if it drops upon the hands, or any part of the body that is naked,
it caufes a {mart and an inflammation, like that raifed by nettles.
Hence it has the aforefaid name, Soe-nelde, i. e. Sea-nettle *,
However, it is no vegetable, but is evidently a living animal ;
for it has fenfation, and grows, moves, fwims, and contra@s and
extends itfelf, It often picks up fmall Fifh or worms, which it
devours, and is again devoured in its turn by other Fifh. Pliny
looks upon it as fomething between an animal and a vegetable ;

but it certainly belongs to the former clafs. “ Equidem, et his
ineffe fenfum arbitror, que nec animations: ace frucicum fed ter:

tiam ex utroque naturam habent, urticis dico & fpongiis, Urtiex
noéu vagantur, no@uque mutantur, carnofe frondis his natura,
& carne vefcuntur. Vis pruritu mordax, eademque que terreftris
_ urtice.” Hift. Nat. Lib. ix. cap. xlv. A esse

Kircher, who calls the Manzten Pulmo Marinus, that is, Sea-
lungs, defcribes it as a poifonous creature; and fays, the exhala-
tions from their dead carcafes are’ very pernicious to the lungs.
As a confirmation of this he fays, that in the province of Nar-
bonne a great number of people annually die of confumptions,

+

_ + In Happelij Relat. Curiof. T. iv. P. ii. p. 444, there is to be feen a drawing of this
Stella Aborefcens, but not fo compleat and perfeét as that which I have had drawn
from feveral {pecimens, all perfect.

* The ufual Norvegian name is, without doubt, of the fame- etymology ; for Ma-
neete fignifies Mar-nettel, Hav-nelde, which is Sea-nettle.

Parr If. | Aaa | which

182 NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.

which he imagines proceed from the great numbers of Maneten
that are found in the falt-water lake, called Mortaigne. See his
Mund. Subterran. P. ii. p. 129.. A friend of mine has obferv'd, ©
that when thefe Manzten lie dead, and putrify upon the fhore,
they have caufed a violent fneezing in thofe who pafs'd by: and
he fays, he knew a country lad that had like to have been
blinded, and atually had his face much inflamed, by his father’s
throwing one of the red fort at him inadvertently, when he
was in a paffion. They are reckoned moft pernicious if they
happen to touch the eyes ; and Iam informed that the peafants
in fome places prepare a kind of poifon from them, to kill ver-
min, and attempt to deftroy the wolf with it. Some mix it with
clay or mortar, and ftop crevices in places where there are bugs ;
and they fay it effeCtually deftroys them, efpecially if the Manste
be catch’d in the dog-days, for then its poifon is moft efficacious.
Perle-baand. The Perle-baand, that is, the String of Pearls, called alfo here
the Silde Reg, and Torske Reg, is compofed of feveral {mall
balls, like peas, hanging together. Thefe are feen fwimming
about the fea like a row of pearls on a ftring. They are compos'd
of a foft flimy matter, like the Sea-nettle, or Manete, and are
probably of the fame nature *. They are indeed tranfparent,
like fo many chryftal beads, with a little mixture of red. This
Perle-baand is always a welcome gueft to the fifhermen; for if
they fee many of them in the Autumn, or towards Chriftmas, they
axe fuppofed to prognofticate great plenty of Herrings and Cod
in the fucceeding feafon.

* Nous avons comparé plus d’une fois les animaux avec les plantes. Monf. Charles
Bonnet a faifi cette idée avant nous. II a perfectionné la brillante penfée d’une échelle

des eftres que Monf. Valifnieri avoit ébauchée. Tout fe fuit dans la nature. Fille a
feu licr tes efpeces ians les contondre. L’homme eft le chef de la création terreftre,

Jes quadrupedes, les oifeaux, les infectes s’en eloignment peu a peu, les Zoophytes finif-
fent le fyfteme des animaux, & les plantes fenfitives vont commencer celuy des vege-
taux. Les Lithopytes terminent celui-~cy & les joignent aux metaux d’une figure de-
terminée. La terre finit encore ce regne, & Jes elemens ramenent fucceffivement la
création 4 )’AEther & A des matieres fubtiles, analogues peut étre aux corps des intelli-
gences fuperieures, Bibliotheque Raifonnée, Tom. xxxvi. p. 192.

GHA P-.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

CHAPTER VII. —

Concerning certain Sea-monfters, or flrange and uncommon
Sea-animals,

Secr. I. Some of the inhabitants of the ocean are dificult to be known with any
degree of certainty ; and we muft fet fome reafonable bounds to our opinions
concerning them. Sect. Il. Of the Hav-Strambe and Maryge, or Mer-man
and Mer-maid; the accounts of which are often, but not always, fabulous.
Sect. Ill. Their exifience és pofible, and even probable. Sucy. 1V. They
exif? in fact, which 1s undeniably proved, both by the evidence of our Norve-
gians and foreigners: a defcription of thefe Sea-animals. Sect. V. More
teftimonies, and further defcriptions of them. Szct. VI. The great Sea-
Jnake, or Serpent of the ocean, feen on the coaft of Norway, is not fabulous.
Sect. VIL. The defcription of it. Sect. VII. Ihe danger of approaching
near to it. Suct. 1X, Whether this creature may be looked upon as the great
Leviathan. Sect. X. Concerning great Snakes in other countries. Sct.
XI. Of the Kraken, Krabben or Horven, the largeft of all animals. Secr.
XII. Their defcription, according to the teflimony of many eye-witneffes.
Sect. XIII. Principally conjirms the truth of their exiftence, and explains
feveral obfcure phenomena. 3

SiE-CrPs! «1,

| iy the three preceding chapters I have treated of Fifhes, and >

other animals found in the Norvegian feas, fo far as 1 have
been able to trace their hiftory, by an extenfive correfpondence,
and by frequently converfing with feveral curious obfervers of the
works of nature; exclufive of the difcoveries that I have myfelf
been able to make on feveral occafions. I lave been enabled to
urfue this work with fome accuracy, by the many fpecimens of
different Sea-animals, frefh, dry’d, or preferved in {pirits, which
have come to my hands. Tho’ the number of thefe {pecimens
be very great, exceeding 100 different f{pecies, yet, perhaps,
they are but a very fmall part of the inhabitants of the acean *:
fo

* Animalium omnium in aquis viventium nomina effe cxliv. vult Ifidorus. At
Hieronymus cli. atque id ab. iis affirmari, qui fcripferunt easeyriye, in quibus eft
Oppianus Cilix, &c. Sed nullum legi hactenus, qui in hunc pracisé numerum inci-
derit practer Oppianum. Plinius recenfuerat clxxvi. fpecies animalium in mari viven-
tium, & Plinii catalogum in immenfum auxerunt, qui de hoc argumento noftra ztate
feripferunt, &c. Addo quod idem Oppianus addit, in mari multa latere.

. — Tae xiv ovrig cecidera pubyrdlo Syalds grav
Quin fi Mahumeti credimus apud Damirem, in capite de locuftis, Deus creavit mille
fpeci¢s animantium, € quibus in mari fexcente funt, & quadringente in terra. Et

Pfeudo-

183

184

Difficulty to
know them
all,

NATURAL HISTORY of WORWU4YLr.

fo that we may join with the Royal Plalmift in that pious excla.

“mation, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wifdom

=

haft thou made them all : the earth is fall of thy riches. So is
this great and wide Sra, wherein are things creeping innumerable,
both fmall and great beafts.”. Pfalm civ. vy. 24, 25. Not only
the incomprehenfible numbers, but the variety alfo much exceeds,
by what we can judge, the fpecies of Land-animals.

The element in which thefe laft breathe, namely, , the air,
does not.allow them. to’ be long concealed, or unknown to! man-
kind 3 fo:that, fuppofe them ever fo fearce, they muft fome time
or other be feen by men ; and, confequently, in fome meafure
be known, But who is there that. lives with the finny tribe, in the
deep receffes of the ocean? or, who has Opportunity to obferve
them accurately and familiarly, in that unftable and boifterous
element? “Tis true, great numbers of different kinds of F ithes,
which the beneficent Creator, with a more than paternal care, has
ordained. .for food. .to mankind, in obedience to his command
vifit us as welcome guefts, or refort to our coafts, at certain
feafons of the year, as if it were to offer us their fervice. Befides
thefe {pecies that are ferviceable to man, there are others deemed
ufelefs or hurtful, tho’ created, doubtlefs, for fome wife purpole :
thefe exhibit to our view their enormous fize, or uncouth forms;
and fall a vidim to man, by unwarily running into fnares, fpread
for others of the fealy tribe of a more beneficial kind. Our fither-
men throw a great many of thefe uncommon. forts overzboard

direftly, looking upon them not only .as ufelefs, but ominous ;

and. call them by the general name of Trold-fisk, .i..e. Unlucky-
fish*. This proceeds, as has been before obferved, from a fuper-
| {titious

Pfeudo-Propheta liberaliores Talmudici, folum mundorum pifcium fpecies feptingentas
effe ftatuunt, in quibus nulla effet hyperbole, fi pro mundis pifcibus aquatilia in genere
dixiffent. Gefnerus enim .aquatilium animantium nomina & icones plufquam deptine
gentas exhibet. Nobis hic indicafle fufficit fumma genera, Sam. Bocharti Hierozoi-
con, Lib. i. c. vi. p. 37.

* Anno 1744,0one Dagfind Korfbeck catched, in the parifh of Sundelvems on Sund-
moer, a monftrous Fifh, which many people faw at his houfe. It’s head was almoft
like the head of a cat; it had four paws, no tail, and about the body was a hard
fhell, like a Lobfter’s: it purred like a cat, and when they put a ftick to it, it would -
fnap at it. The peafants look’d upon it asa Trold, or ominous Fith, and were afraid
to_keep it; and, confequently, a few hours after they threw it into the fea again,
According to the defcription, this might be called a Sea-Armadilla, by which name an
American Land-animal is known, nearly of the fame fhape; excepting that it has
a long tail, A fitherman at Sundfland, two miles from Bergen, told me he had
once feen a much more furprizing Sea-monfter clofe to his boat ; having juft taken
a view of the fifhing-boat, it dived under the water immediately. This was not unlike
a Sea-calf as to the fore-part, and had furred fkin. The body was as broad and big
as a yeflel of 50 lafts burthen;. and the tail, which feemed to be about fix fathoms
Jong, was quite fmall, and pointed at the end, There is a report, but not alte
) gether

NATURALHISTORY of VORVAY. 185

flitious notion, véry difadvantageous to the ftudy of nature: for
the fifhermen are petfuaded, that if they preferve them, they
fhall meet with ill fuccefs in their fifheries, or fome other mif-
fortune. However, from the few that accidentally come to our
hands, tho’ not fufficient for our purpofe, the learned may form
fome idea of the reft. Was it poffible for our fight to pene-
trate through the thick medium of water, as we can through
the air, we fhould fee wonderful objects, according to the accounts
given us by the divers, who are employed in recovering wrecked
goods. Thefe men, if one may believe them, fee ftrange forms
in the deep recefles of the fea, which hardly any other eyes have
beheld. Were it poflible that the fea could be drained of its
waters, and emptied by fome extraordinary accident, what incre-
dible numbers, what infinite variety of uncommon and amazing
Sea-monfters would exhibit themfelves to our view, which are
now entirely tnknown! Such a fight would at once determine
the truth of many hypothefes concerning Sea-animals, whofe
exiftence is difputed, and looked upon as chimerical. 1 will
allow they may be uncertain, becaufe we have but few oppor-
tunities to determine this point, by fuch fure evidence as would
leave no room for doubt; but at the fame time this is certain, we are aptto
that as on the one fide We ought not to be too credulous, and (oe%.0""

times too

believe the idle tales.and improbable ftories that every fifherman ™ 24
or failor relates, either upon the credit of one of his companions, litle |
or from what he has feen himfelf, when embellifhed with a great
many additions and variations, concerning ftrange and frightful fea-
monfters: yet Iam of opinion, that the other extreme deviates
as far from the truth, namely, when we will not believe things
ftrange and uncommon, tho’, according to the unchangeable law
of nature, poffible 3 beceanfo we cinnnat have fy evident and clear
a demonftration of it as we might: by this way of arguing, all
hiftoric faith would be deftroyed. One might as well doubt
whether there are Hottentots* ; for tho’ the number of wit-
néfles be much greater in that cafe, ftill that does not alter the
nature of the knowledge ; it only raifes it toa higher degree of
certainty. I premife this as undeniable, not without caufe; for

gether to be depended upon, that fome peafants at Sundmoer have catched a Snake
lately in a net, which was three fathoms long, and had four legs: this muft fome-
what refemble a Crocodile. The peafants ran away frightened, and left the Snake to
do the fame.

* S’il ne faut ajouter foi qu’aux chofés qu’on a vues, il n’y aura rien de certain dans
PHiftoire. Les Tribunaux de judicature ne pourront plus prononcer fur la dépofition
des temoins, & c’en eft fait de tout commerce dans les pays ot I’on n’a pas été, & avec
des perfonnes qu’on ne connoit point. Une telle propofition, fi elle etoit recu, boule-
verferoit la Societe. Bibliotheque Britannique, T. xxii. p. 277.

Parr IL. } I have

186

Hav-Mand,
Mer-man,

Fable of a
Mer-man.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.
I have propofed in this chapter, as a farther difplay of the

Creator's wifdom, power and glorious ceconomy, to give fome
account of the Sea-monfters that are found in the ocean, along:
the coaft of Norway. Thefe, tho’ they appear not every day,
yet are feen often enough for our purpofe: for there are many
witnelles of credit and reputation, who have feen them; even
hundreds might be produced for each inftance, if it fhould be
required.

There are many things belonging to the Natural Hiftory of
Norway, which are common in other places, tho’, perhaps, fcarce
with us ; fo here alfo are many things common, and well known
in this country, which, in other places, may poffibly be doubted.
Thefe confiderations were the great motives that encouraged me
to undertake this troublefome, and, in many refpedts, difficult
work. 7

oF EeCrl.. oH.

Amongft the many Sea-monfters which are in the North fea,

and are often feen, I fhall give the firft place to the Hav-Manden,

or Mer-man, whofe mate is called Hav-Fruen, or Mer-maid.

* The exiftence of this creature is queftioned by many, -nor is
it at all to be wondered at; becaufe moft of the accounts we
have had of it, are mixed with meer fables, and may be looked
upon as idle tales. Such is the ftory of a Mer-man, taken by the
fifhermen at Hordeland, near Bergen ; which, they fay, fung an
unmufical fong to king Hiorlief. J. Ram. See Hiftory of Nor-
way, p. 24. Such alfo is the account given by Refenius, Relat.
in vita Frederici II. anno 1577, of a Mer-maid, that called her-
felf Isbrandt, and held feveral converfations with a peafant at
Samfoe ; in which fhe foretold the birth of Chriftian IV. and made
the peafant preach repentance to the courtiers, who were very
much given to drunkennefs. According to A. Buffeus, (in his
book cited in Theatr. Europ. T. I. anno 1619) the two fenators,
Ulf Rofenfparre and Chriftian Holch, on their return from Nor-
way, in their voyage caught fuch a Mer-man; but ’tis added,
they were obliged to let him go into the water again ; for whilft

* The old Norvegians called the male Hafstrambe, and the female Maryge, accord-
ing to Andrew Bufféeus, in his Scriptum Monographum, printed in Ol. Bang’s Ufeful
and Inftructive Mifcellanies, III. St. p. 531, relying upon an old MS. called Specu-
lum Regale, extracted by Peter Claufen Undal, of which I have given fome account,
in the preface to the firft part of this work; butI did not know that the fame extraét
was extant in a copy Buffazus muft have had, and much lefs that the work itfelf at
large is ftill to be feen amongft Arnze Magnai MSS. at the univerfity-library in Copen-
hagen, of which I have lately (with pleafure and fuprife) been advifed by a letter from
the honourable B. Lundorph, counfellor of ftate. ‘ i

€

NATURAL HISTORY of VORW «AY.

he lay upon the deck, he {poke Danith to them, and threatned,
if they did not give him his liberty, that the fhip fhould be caft
away, and every foul of the crew fhould perifh. This is as idle
as the other ftories. When fuch fitions are mixed with the
hiftory of the Mer-man, and when that creature is reprefented as
a prophet and an orator ; when they give the Mer-maid a melo-
dious voice, and tell. us that the isa fine finger ; one need not
wonder that fo few people of fenfe will give credit to fuch abfur-
dities ; or that they even doubt the exiftence of fuch a ‘creature.

SEC YT. Til.

However, while we have no ground to believe all thefe fables,
yet, as to. the exiftence of the creature, we may fafely give our
alfent to it; provided that it is not improbable, ot impoffible in
the nature of things, and that there is no want of confirmation
from creditable. witneffes, and fuch as are not to be rejected.
Both thefe propofitions I fhall thew to be well grounded. But
before I proceed, I will venture to deferibe our Norvegian Mer-
man and Mer-maid, as likewife their young, called Marmete, or
Marmele. If we judge of this affair (a priori) and enquire
whether it be probable, that we fhould find in the ocean’ a F ith,
or creature, which refembles the human {pecies more than any
other, it cannot be denied but we may anfwer in the affirma-
tive, from the analogy and refemblance that is obferved betwixt
various fpecies of land and fea-animals. It is well known there
are Sea-horfes, Sea-cows, Sea-wolves, Sea-hogs, Sea-dogs, &c. *
which bear a near refemblance to the land-animals of thofe
fpecies: tho’ this fhould be allowed as reafonable, yet fome may
make an objetion, founded upon felf-love, and refpe& to our own
{pecies, which is honoured with the umosec of God, who made
man lord of all creatures; confequently we may fuppofe he is
entituled to fuch a noble and heavenly form, which other ¢rea-
tures muft not partake of ; according to the words of the poet.

Pronaque cum fpectent animalia cetera terram,
Os homini fublime dedit, ccelumque tueri,

But the force of this argument vanifhes, when we confider
the form of Apes, and efpecially of the great Baboons of Africa f,
ee and

* Vera eft vulgi opinio, quicquid nafcatur in parte nature ulla, & in mari effe,
preterque multa, qua nufquam alibi. Rerum quidem non folum animalium fimula-
cra, &c. Plinius, Lib. ix. c. ii, This is confirmed by our fifhermen, from their
own experience, who know nothing of Pliny’s authority. etic

T Si vera fatebor, qua hiftoricus naturalis, ex {cientize principiis nullum characterem

| hactenus

187

The truth.

18g

NATURAL. HISTORY of VORWAY

and much more when we confider another African creature, called
Quoyas Morrov, of which Odoard Dapper, in his Defcription of
Africa, p. 583, gives the following account. I

¢ In the woods of the kingdom of Angola, or Dongo, we find
an animal called Quoyas Morrov, that is, the Wood-man; it is
alfo met with in Quoya, and in Bromo: it greatly refembles
man, and hence it is believed by many, that it has been produced
from the intercourfe between a man and an ape, or an ape and a
woman. A creature of this fort was fome years ago brought to
Holland, and prefented to Frederic Henry, prince of Orange. It
was as tall as achild of three years old, and as corpulent as one
of fix: it was ftrongly built; fmooth before, but rough, and
overgrown with black hairs behind. The countenance of this
animal refermbled that of a man ; the nofe was flat, the ears like
human ears; it had two protuberant breafts, a navel, and all its
limbs like thofe of the human fpecies; as elbows, hands, legs,

calves of the legs, and ancles. It frequently walked ere&t, and

Meer-Minne.

could take up a heavy weight, and bear it away. Whenit wanted
drink, it fixed one hand to the bottom of a tankard, and with the
other took hold of the lid, and drank, wiping its lips afterwards.
It laid its head regularly upon a pillow, when inclined to fleep,
and covered itfelf carefully with the bed-cloaths; fo that any per-
fon would have fwore that a man was fleeping in the place. It
is reported, that thefe animals attack and ravifh women, and that
they fometimes fall upon armed men. Upon the whole, this ani-
mal appears to be the Satyr of the ancients.”

§. EC, -Pen lid Va

If we will not allow our Norvegian Has{tromber the honourable
name of Mer-man, we thay very well call it the Sea-ape, or the
Sea~Quoyas Morrov, efpecially as the author already quoted pre-
fently after fays, in p. 584, ‘© That in the Seaof Angola Mermaids
are frequently catch’d, which refemble the human fpecies. They
are taken in nets, and killd by the negroes, and are heard to
fhriek and cry. like women. The inhabitants on that coaft eat
their fleth, being very fond of it, which they fay is much like
pork in tafte. The ribs of thefe animals are reckoned a good -
ftyptic ; and a certain bone in the head, which feparates the brain,

hactenus eruere potui, unde homo a fimia internofcatur. Dantur enim alicubi terrarum -
fimize, minus quam homo pilofze, erecto corpore, binis geque ac ille pedibus ince-
dentes, & pedum & manuum minifterio, humanam referentes {peciem, prorfus ut
eofdem pro hominum quopiam genere venditarint_peregrinatorum rudiores. Loquela
quidem, &c. — — verum hae quedam eft potentia, vel certe effectus, non
nota charatteriftica, Carol. Linneus in Prefat. Faunz Suecicz, p. 2.

Is

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

is faid to be a powerful remedy againft the ftone.”’ I fhall add to
all this, a paflage relating to this fubjet, which may be met
with under the article Meer-mann, p. 658, 1n the Univerfal Dic
tionary of Arts and Sciences, publifhed by John Theodore Jablon-
fky : “* Meer-man, Meer-weib, Meer-minne, that 1s, Sea-man, Mer-
maid, or Siren, called by the Indians Ambifiangulo, otherwife Pe-
-fiengoni, and by the Portuguefe Pezz Muger, isa Fifh found in the
-feas, and in fome rivers in the Southern parts of Africa and India, and
in the Philipine and Molucca Iflands, Brafil, North America, and
Europe, in the NorthSea. The length of this Fifh is eight {pans, its
head is oval, and the face refembles that of a man. It has an high
forehead, little eyes, a flat nofe, and large mouth, but has no chin
orears. It has two arms, which are fhort, but without joints or el-
bows, with hands or paws, to each of which there are four long
fingers, (which are not very flexible) connected to each other by a
membrane, like that of the foot of a goofe. Their fex is diftinguifh-
able by the parts of generation. The females have breafts to
fuckle their offspring ; fo that the upper part of their body re-
fembles that of the human fpecies, and the lower part that of a
Fifh. Their tkin is of a brownifh grey colour, and their inteftines
are like thofe of a hog. Their flefh is as fat as pork, particu-
larly the upper parts of their bodies ; and this is a favourite difh
with the Indians, broiled upon a Gridiron. It makes a lamentable
cry when drawn out of the water. There is a bone in the head
that divides the brain, which the Portuguefe powder, and fay: is
of great fervice in the ftone and gravel. Accounts of the catching
of thefe Sea or Mer-men in Europe are delivered by Wormius,
Guiccardino, Mexia, 'Seybold, Erafmus, Francifcus, and others.”

Athanafius Kircher gives this deftriptiou of the Pezz-muger,

in his third book de Magnete, P. vi. c.1. §.6, p.675. “ Capitur’

certis temporibus anni in mari orientali Indiz, ad infulas Viflayas,
quas infulas Pi@orum vocant, fub Hifpannorum dominio pifcis
Guidam abeuropopos, 1, e. humana prorfus figura, quem ideo Pezze
Muger vocant, ab indigenis Duyor. Caput habet rotundum
nulla colli intercapedine trunci compactum, extremee aurium fibre,
que & auricule nominantur, ex cartilaginea carne eleganter. ve-
{titze, quarum interior pars, ampliflimis formata anfraGtibus, veram
hominis refert aurem, oculos fuis ornatos palpebris, fituque &
colore non pifcis fed hominis judicares. Nafo nonnihil oberrat,
malam inter utramque non ufquequaque eminet, fed levi tramite

bipartitur, fub eo vero labra magnitudine fpecieque noftris fimil~

lima, dentium, non quales infunt pifcium generi ferratilium, fed

planoram & candidiflimorum, continua feries. Pectus alba cute
Part II. Ccc | cot<

-

189

-

190

Confirmed.

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORV AY.

contectum, Hinc atque hinc paulo latius quam pro carpere, in
mammas extuberans, neque eas ut foeminis pendulas, fed quales
virginibus globofas, plenas lactis candidiffimi. Brachia non longa
fed lata ad natandum apta, fullis tamen ipfa cubitis, ulnis, ma-
nibus articulifque diftin@a.~ In adminiftris fobolis procreandze
membris in utroque fexu nulla ab humanis diftinGtio. Poft hzec
in pifcem cauda definit.”

So 6. Bie M, |
Upon thefe authorities I may fay, that if the exiftence of the
European Mer-men be called in queftion, it muft proceed en-

tirely from the fabulous ftories ufually mix d with the truth ®.

Here, in the diocefe of Bergen, as well as in the manor of
Nordland, are feveral hundreds of perfons of credit and reputa-
tion, who affirm, with the ftrongeft affurances, that they have .
feen this kind of creature fometimes at a diftance, and at other
times quite clofe to their boats, ftanding upright, and formed
like a human creature down to the middle 5 the reft they could
not fee. Ihave fpoken with many of thefe people, all eye-wit-
nefles to the exiftence of the creature ; and I have taken all pof-
fible precautions in examining them f{tridily on the fubje&. The

refult was, that I found them all agree in every particular of their
accounts, which anfwers to a defcription lately publifhed by Jab-
lonsky and Kircher, far as they could judge by the fight of
them only, at a fmall diftance. But of thofe who had feen them
out of the water, and handled them, I have not been able to find
more than one perfon of credit who could vouch it for truth. As T
may fafely give credit to this perfon, namely, the reverend Mr.
Peter Angel, who is ftill living, and minifter of the parith of
Vand-Elvens Gield, on Sundmoer, I fhall relate what he affured
me of laft year, when I was on my vifitation-journey. He’ fays,
that in the year 1719, he (being then about 20 years old) alon
with feveral other inhabitants of Alftahoug in Nordland, faw
what is called a Mer-man, lying dead ona point of land near the
fea, which had been caft afhore by the waves, along with feveral
Sea-calves, and other dead Fifth. The length of this creaturé
was much greater than what has been mentioned of any before,
namely, above three fathoms. It was of a dark grey colour all
over: in the lower part it was like a Fith, and had a tail like that
of a Porpefle. . The face refembled that of a man, with a mouth,
forehead, eyes, 8tc. The nofe was flat, and, as it were, preffed

_* In Everh. Happelius’s Mundus Mirabilis are to be read many ftories, mixed with.
fables, concerning the Mer-man, Tom. iii, Lib, i. cap. 18, 4

: Own ©

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
down to the face, in which the noftrils have ever been very vifible.
The breaft was not far from the head ; the arms feem’d to hang
to the fide, to which they were joined by a thin fkin or mem-
brane. The hands were, to appearance, like the paws of a Sea-calf.
The back of this creature was very fat, anda great part of it was
cut off, which, with the liver, yielded a large quantity of train-oil.
That this creature, which is reckoned among the Whale-kind, is
a Fifh of prey, and lives upon the fmaller fort, may be concluded
from what Mr. Luke Debes relates, in his Defcription of Faroe.
He tells us, that they have there féen a Mer-maid with a Fifh,
which fhe held in her hand. The words are,in p. 171, as follows:
“« There walfo feen in 1670, at Faroe, Weftward of Qualboe
Eide, by many of the inhabitants, as alfo by others from different
parts of Suderoe, a Mer-maid, clofe to the fhore. She ftood there
two hours and a half, and was up to the navel in water. She
had long hairs on her head, which hung down to the furface of
the water all round about her. She held a Fifth, with the head
downwards, in her right-hand. “I was told alfo, that in the fame
year the fifhermen in Wefterman-haven, on Stromoe, had, at their
fifhery north of Faroe, feen a Mer-maid.”

Tormodus Torfeeus relates, that feveral Mer-men, along with
other monfters, were {een at one time on the coaft of Iceland, in
his Hift. Norv. T. iv. L. vit. p. 416, and there refers to his Ac-
count of Greenland. Iam forry that I have not the work at hand,
for thofe that would be curious to know more of this matter; but

in the place juft quoted he {peaks thus: “ Sirenes propter auftra-_

lia Iflandize promontoria, Sudrnes appellata, pluraque alia monftra

vifa, & in his illud, quod Hafftrambe appellatur (de quo videri

poteft Gronlandia noftra cap. Xi.) nautis, qui in Mlandiam vento
retroacti funt, obfervatum.” : |

That thele creatures, being Fifh of prey, fometimes quarrel
with the Sea-calf, is confirmed by a relation fent me, with feve-
ral others, by the rev. Mr. Hans Strom, at Borgen. It runs to this
effect : “ It happened at Neroe in Numedalen, that there was
found a Mer-man and a Sea-calf on a rock, both dead, and all over
bloody ; from which it is conjeGtured that they had killed one
another.”’

The rev. Mr. Randulf, re&tor of the place, gave himfelf fome
trouble, by endeavouring to preferve the Mer-man, but to no
purpofe ; for before he or his people could get near it, the peafants
had cut them both to pieces, for the fake of the fat. Whether
amongf{t thefe Mer-men, or, as we may rather call them, Sea-apes,
there be any fpecifick difference in fhape or fize (as I have obferved
before

igt

cr

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

before that the real apes differ from the creature called Quoyas-
Morrow, though there is in all a fimilitude of the human form) |
I cannot fay for a certainty. However, I am apt to think there
is, and not without fome probability. In regard to fize at leaft,
they remarkably differ every where, according to our fifhermen,
from the well-known fea-animal called Marmale, or Marmeete :
This fhall be defcribed hereafter, and might feem to be a dwarf in
this {pecies.. That mentioned above, in the paflage quoted from
Mr. Angel, being three fathoms long, might, in the {ame manner,
be called a giant among the reft.

In the year 1624 a Mer-man, thirty-fix feet long, was taken in
the Adriatic Sea; according to Henry Seebald’s Breviar Hiftor. to
this the la(t-mentioned was but a dwarf. See p. 535. As to their
form, it is faid that fome have a ‘kin over their head like a
monk’s hood, which perhaps ferves them for the fame purpofes ;
as does the {kinny hood,, which acertain fort of Sea-calves have
on their heads, which, from thence, are called Klap-mutzer, as
has been obferved in the defcription of that creature. Olaus Mag-
nus {peaks, in Lib. xxi. cap.1, of feveral monfters in the North
Sea, all which refemble the human kind, with a monk’s hood on
the head. His words are, “‘Cucullati hominis forma.’’ He adds,
that if any of this company bé catch’d, a number of them fet up
a howl, put themfelves in violent agitations, and oblige the fifher-
men to fet. the prifoner at liberty. But this laft article is a meer
romance, to which this too credulous author in this, as well as
fome other particulars, has given too much credit, without fuffi-
cient grounds. Of this Mer-man with a hood Rondeletius writes
thus, in Gefner. de Aquatilibus, Lib. iv. which I ought not to
omit. ‘°° Inter marina monftia cft & illud, quod noftra tate in
Norvegia captum eft, mari procellofo. Id quotquot viderunt .
{tatim Monachi nomen impofuerunt. _ Humana facie effle videba-
tur, fed ruftica & agrefti, capite rafo & levi. Humeros conte-
gebat veluti Monachorum noftrorum cucullus... Pinnas duas lon-
gas pro brachiis habebat. Pars infima in caudam longam define-
bat. Media multo erat. latior, fagi militaris figura. Hanc effi-
giem mihi dono dedit illuftriffima Margareta Navarre regina, &c,
Ea a viro nobili effigiem hanc acceperat, qui fimilem ad Carolum
VY. imperatorem, in Hifpania tunc agentem, deferebat. Illa Te-
ging affirmavit, fe monftrum hoc in Norvegia captum vidifle, poft
graviffimas tempeftates undis & fluctibus in littus ejectum, lo-
cumque defignabat, die Zundt juxta oppidum den Ellepoch. Ejuf-
dem monftri pi¢turam mihi oftendit Gifbertus medicus ex eadem
Norvegia Romam ad fe mifam, que pictura nonnihil a mgs iu

| erebat.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWY AY.

ferebat. Quare, ut dicam quod fentio, quedam preter rei veri-
tatem a pidtoribus addita effe puto, ut res mirabilior haberetur *;
crediderim igitur monftrum hoc humanam formam ea modo re-
ferre, quo pars capitis ranarum, quia poft caput partes erant utrin-
que elate hominum omoplatis refpondentes ; mufculifque move-
bantur, qui cuculli Monachorum figuram reprefentant, qualis in
nobis fpectatur. Secundus mufculus omoplatas movens, fcilicet
eas partim ad fe attrahens, partim attollens, cuculli Monachorum
forma aptiffime referens. Ad hec, non {quamis fed cute dura ru-

vofa veluti cortice contetum putarim, quemadmodum de Leone

marino dicemus.”’ |

As this account confounds Norway with the Sound, and Mal-
moe, which the Dutch call the Elbow, I conclude this ftrange
Fifh here fpoken of to have been juft the fame with that which
Arild Hvitfeld in vita Chrift. iii, ad anno 1550, fpeaks of. He
fays it was caught in Orefund, and brought to Copenhagen, and
there buried by his majefty’s order, becaufe the head refembled
that of a human creature, with cropped hair, and covered with a
monk’s hood. ‘There is yet a difference obferved in this Mer-

man or Mer-maid’s lower parts, and the tail. Thefe are repre«

fented, in moft of the drawings, with fins, like other Fifth, and
with a flat and divided tail, fomething like that of the Porpeffes ;
from this that print of a Sirene, which Thom: Barthol. gives us
in Hiftoriar, Anatomicar. centur. I]. N° ix. p. 188. differs en-
tirely, for the lower extremity is there reprefented with a round
protuberance, without the leaft fign of a fin, or any thing like
the tail of a Fith. :

The anatomy of a Mer-maid’s hand, which the faid author re-
prefents, and which he had in his pofleffion, together with a rib
of this creature, are, without doubt, the fame that Ol. Jacobzus,
in his Muf. Reg. p. 15. takes notice of, and where he does not
queftion the exiftence of this creature; any more than the former
writer. Bartholine, in the before-mentioned place, quotes the
teftimony of feveral foreign writers, and concludes the fubje& in
p- 193. with thefe words: “ Tanta de Sirenum forma apud anti-
quos recentiorefque differentia eft, ut mirum non fit, pro fig-

* This writer has the greateft reafon to fufpect the painter of impofition, for paint-
ing it in that manner. Ambrofius Parzus, Lib. xxv. cap. 34, and alfo Gafp. Schott.
Lib iii. cap. 3. betrays a good deal of affectation in comparing this animal with a
pricft in his facerdotal habit, or to a Jewifh high-prieft in his pontificals, In the
General Collection of Voyages and Travels, Tom. vii. fect. 4. p. 226, this creature
is reprefented among the animals of the ocean that are caught at the Cape of Good-

Hope. It is figured there like a common Sirene, or Mer-maid, with only this dif-

ference, that on the arms there are feveral fins.

Part II. Ddd mentis

193

194

Tateft in-
ftances.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

mentis haberi quibufdam. Nos oculatas manus habemus, Sirenef-
que tales demonftramus, quales revera vif. Nec manus aut cofte
se quarum icones dedimus ad ipfam nature veritatem con-
eas.”

The lateft inftance I have learned of a Mer-man’s being feen,
was in Denmark ; and this ftands attefted fo well, that it de-
ferves to be quoted after all the others. I fhall give-it as it is
found in Ol. Bang’s colle@ions, p. 528. and is as follows: Anno
1723, onthe 2oth of September, the burger-mafter, A. Buffeus,
of Elfeneur, had, by his majefty’s orders, three ferrymen, inha-
bitants of Elfeneur, examined before the privy-councellor Frid.
von Gram. Their names were Peter Gunnerfen, aged 38, Nicho-
las Jenfen, aged 31, his brother, and Jeppe Jenfon Giffen, aved
29. ‘Thefe men were examined about aSea-monfter, which they
affirmed they had feen a few weeks before, and concerning which
their depofitions were taken upon their refpeQive oaths, in order
to corroborate their teftimony.

It appeared, that about two months before, the aforefaid ferry-
men were towing a fhip juft arrived from the Baltic, and which
was then under full fail, when they were at a confiderable diftance
from land, being in the midway between Hveen and Sedland,
where they could fee the church-fteeples of Landferone. The

~ calm weather induced them to lie by a little, and at the diftance

of an Englifh mile, or a quarter of a Norway mile, they obferved
fomething floating on the water like a dead body, which made
them row to it, that they might fee what it was. When they
came within feven or eight fathoms, it ftill appeared as at firft,
for it had not ftirred, but at that inftant it funk, and came up
again almoft immediately in the fame place. Upon this, out of
fear, they lay ftill, and then let the boat float, that they might
the better examine the monfter, which, by the help of the
current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned his face,
and ftared at the men, which gave them a good opportunity of
examining him narrowly ; he ftood in the fame place for half a
quarter of an hour, and was feen above the water down to his
breaft: at laft they grew apprehenfive of fome danger, and be-
gan to retire; upon which the monfter blew up his cheeks, and
made a kind of a roaring noife, and then dived under the water,
fo that they did not fee him any more.

In regard to his form and fhape, they fay he appeared to
them like an old man, ftrong limb’d, and with broad fhoulders,
but his arms they could not fee. His head was {mall in propor-
tion to the body, and had fhort-curled black hair, which did

not

NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY.

not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his head, and he
had a meager and pinched face, with a black beard, that looked
-asif it had been cut. His skin was coarfe, and very full of hair.
- Peter Gunnerfen related, (what the others did not obferve) that
this Mer-man was, about the body and downwards, quite pointed
like a Fifth. This fame Peter Gunnerfen likewife depofed, that
about twenty years before, as he was in a boat near Kulleor, (the
place where he was born) he faw a Mer-maid with long hair,
and large breafts. Thefe ferrymen further depofed, that the
weather was very fine and quite calm during the fame day, and

for feveral days following. |
That this examination was taken in the moft regular and exad

manner, attefts, Elfeneur, ut fupra,
Andrew Buffeus.

Whilft I am writing this, the reverend Mr. Hans Strom informs
me, that in Bergenfund on Sundmoer, there has alfo this Summer
been feen a Mer-man of the common form: however, in all
thefe accounts probably fancy has exaggerated a little.

195

The before-mentioned Marmele, or, as fome call it, Marmete, Marmate.

belongs alfo to this clafs of the Mer-maid: tho’ I fhall not call it
the Mer-man’s offfpring, yet one might give it this name till,
further examined into. This creature is often caught on hooks,
and is well known to moft of the fifhermen. They are of dif-
ferent fizes ; fome are of the bignefs of an infant of half a year
old ; others of one of a year ; and others again as big as achild of
three years old: of this laft fize there was one lately taken in
Selloe-Sogn ; the upper part was like a child, but the reft like a
Fifth: thofe who caught it threw it dire&ly into the fea. Some-
times the peafants take them home to their houfes, and, as they
fay, give them milk, which they drink: They tell us that
thefe creatures then roll their eyes about ftrangely, as if it was
out of curiofity, or furprife, to fee what they had not feen before.
Thofe that venture to take them home, do it in hopes of having
fomething foretold by them; but they do not keep them above
24 hours, fuperftitioufly thinking themfelves bound to row out
to fea, and put them down in the fame place where they found
them.

pe CT Vile

The Soe Ormen, the Sea-Snake, Serpens Marinus Magnus, The grext

called by fome in this country the Aaale-Tuft, is a wonderful and s

terrible Sea-monfter, which extremely deferves to be taken notice ”

of

Sea-Snake, or
erpent of the

196

Many witnef-
fes not to be
rejected,

| particulars.

NATURAL HISTORY of NVORVAY.

of by thofe who are curious to look into the extraordinary works
of the great creator. Amonft thefe the Kraaken, which I am
going to defcribe, is tobe confidered as the moft extraordinary in
length. But here I muft again, as I did of the Mer-man, firft
give the reader proper authorities for the real exiftence of this
creature, before I come to treat of its nature and properties.
This creature, particularly in the North Sea, continually keeps
himfelf in the bottom of the fea, excepting in the months of
July and Auguft, which is their fpawning time; and then they
come to the furface in calm weather, but plunge into the water
again, {fo foon as the wind raifes the leaft wave. abe eA SE Pabst
If it were not for this regulation, thus ordained by the wife
Creator for the fafety of mankind, the reality of this Snake’s
exiftence would be lefs queftioned, than it is at prefent, even
here in Norway ; tho’ our coaft is the only place in Europe vifited
by this terrible creature. This makes many perfons, that are
enemies to credulity, entertain fo much the greater doubt about
it. I have queftioned its exiftence myfelf, till that fufpicion was
removed by full and fufficient evidence from creditable and expe-
rienced fifhermen, and failors, in Norway; of which there are
hundreds, who can teftify that they have annually feen them.
All thefe perfons agree very well in the general defcription ; and
others, who acknowledge that they only know it by report, or
by what their neighbours have told them, ftill relate the. fame
In all my enquiry about thefe affairs, I have hardly {poke
with any intelligent perfon, born in the manor of Nordland, who
was not able to give a pertinent anfwer, and ftrong aflurances of
the exiftence of this Fifh: and fome-.of. our North traders, that
come here every year with their merchandize, think it a very
ftrange queftion, when they are ferioufly afked, whether there
be any {uch creature; they think it as ridiculous as if the
queftion was put to them, whether there be fuch Fifh as Eel
or Cod. + a
Laft Winter I fell by chance in converfation on this fubject
with captain Lawrence de Ferry, now commander in this place,
who faid that he had doubted a great while, whether there was
any fuch creature, till he had an opportunity of being fully con-
vinced, by ocular demonftration, in the year 1746. Though I
had nothing material to object, ftill he was pleafed, as a farther
confirmation of what he advanced, to bring before the magiftrates,
at a late feffions in the city of Bergen, two’ fea-faring men,
who were with him in the boat when he fhot. one of thefe “=
ers,

SS
é

Se
i ——=

A

"*

Dhe 5

EE be

we.

———

.
x;
uy
‘4
3
s.

NATURAL HISTORY of WORWAY,

fters, and faw the Snake, as well as the blood that difcoloured |

the water. What the faid men depofed upon oath in court, may
be feen by the following inftrument: the original was fent mie,
and I think it deferves to be printed at large. It runs thus:

19%

“ His thajefty’s chief advocate in Bergen, Albert Chriftian Teftimony
bee oe ee : : . given at the
| Dals; the recorder, Hans Chriftian Gartner, John Clies, Oliver fia’ “*

Simenfen, Oliver Brinchmand, George Konig for Conrad de
Lange, Matthias Gram for Elias Peter Tuckfen, Claus Natler for
Didrick Haflop, Jochum Fogh for Henry Hiort, and George
Wiers for Hans Chriftian Byfling, {worn-burghers and jury-men,
give evidence, that in the year of our Lord 1451, on the
twenty-fecond day of February, at a feffions of juftice in this
city of Bergen, the procurator John Reutz appeared, and pre.
fented a letter which had been delivered to him that day, from
the honourable Lawrence de Ferry, captain in the navy, and
firft pilot, dated the preceding day, February 21, wherein he
defires the faid procurator to procure him written copies of the
refpective depofitions, attefted properly upon oath, relating to
the before-mentioned affair, and what there happened: and the
faid procurator, now prefent, for that purpofe, humbly begs,
that two men, namely, Nicholas Peterfen Kopper, and Nicholas

Nicholfon Anglewigen, inhabitants of this city, may be admitted’.

to make oath, that every particular fet forth in the aforefaid
letter is true ; which depofition he defires may be entered in the
act of that feffions. This letter was accordingly read to the
faid deponents ; and is as follows: :

Mr. John Reutz,

‘The latter end of Auguft, in the year 1746, as I was ona
voyage, in my return from Trundhiem, in a very calm and hot day,
having a mind to put in at Molde, it happened, that when we
were arrived with my veflel within fix Englifh miles of the
aforefaid Molde, being at a place called Jule-Nefs, as I was read-
ing in a book, I heard a kind of a murmuring voice from
amongft the men at the oars, who were eight in number, and
obferved that the man at the helm kept off from the land. Upon
this I enquired what was the matter ; and was informed that there
was a Sea-{nake before us. I then ordered the man at the helm
to keep to the land again, and to come up with this creature, of
which [ had heard fo many ftories. Tho’ the fellows were under
fome apprehenfions, they were obliged to obey my orders. In
the mean time this Sea-fnake paffed by us, and we were obliged to

Part II, Eee tack

198

Form.

“NATURAL HISTORY of VOR AY.

tack the veflel about, in order to get nearer to it. As the Snake
{wam fafter than we could row, 1 took my gun, that was ready
charged, and fired at it: on this he immediately plunged under
the water. We rowed to the place where it funk down (which
in the calm might be eafily obferved) and lay upon our oars,
thinking it would come up again to the furface; however, it did
not. When the Snake plunged down, the water appeared thick
and red; perhaps fome of the fhot might wound it, the diftance
being very little. ‘Che head of this Snake, which it held more
than two feet above the furface of the water, refembled that of
a horfe. It was of a greyifh colour, and the mouth was quite

black, and. very large. It had black eyes, and along white mane,

that hung down from the neck to the furface of the water. Be-
fides the head and neck, we faw feven or eight folds or coils of
this Snake, which were very thick, and, as far as we could guefs,
there was about a fathom diftance between each fold. I related
this affair in a certain company, where there was a -perfon of —
diftinction prefent, who defired that I would communicate to
him an authentic detail of all that happened ; and for this reafon
two of my failors, who were prefent at the fame time and place
when Ifaw this monfter, namely, Nicholas Pederfen Kopper, and
Nicholas Nicholfon Anglewigen, fhall appear in court, to declare
on oath the truth of every particular herein fet forth; and I |

defire the favour of an attefted copy of the faid defcriptions.

| I remain, Sir, your obliged fervant,
Bergen, 21 February, 1751. |

L. de FERRY.

After this the before-named witnefles gave their corporal oaths,
and with their finger held up according to law, witneffed and.
confirmed the aforefaid letter or declaration, and every particular.

fet forth therein, to be ftrictly true. A copy of the faid attefta-

tioh was made out for the faid Procurator Reutz, and granted by
the recorder. ;
- That this was tranfated in our court of juitice, we confirm
with our hands and feals.” Actum Bergis, Die & Loco, ut fupra.

A.C. DASS. to + igpindle GARE NE Ro Se,
(L, S.) (L.S.) |
SECT. VII. |
. | Governor Benftrup affirms, that he faw the fame creature a

few-years.ago, and that he drew asketch of the Sea-fnake, which
. | T-wifh

he

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORPUY

{ with I had to communicate to the public. 1 have however in-
ferted a draught that I was favoured with by the before-mentioned
clergyman, Mr. Hans Strom, which he caufed to ‘be carefully’
made, under his own infpe@ion. This agrees in every particular
with the defeription of this monfter, given by two of his neigh-
bours at Herroe, namely, Meff. Reutz and Tuchfen, and of
which they had been eye-witnefles. 1 might\mention to the fame
purpofe many more perfons of equal credit’and reputation. Ano-
ther drawing alfo, which appears more diftin@ with regard to
the form of this creature, was taken from the reverend’Mr.
Egede’s journal of the Greenland miffion, where the account
ftands thus in p. 6. “ On the 6th of July, 1734, there appeared.
a very large and frightful Sea-monfter, which raifed itfelf up fo
‘high out of the water, that its head reached above our main-top.
It hada long fharp fnout, and fpouted water like a Whale, and
very broad paws. The body feemed to be covered with fecales,

and the skin was uneven and wrinkled, and the lower part ‘was

formed like a Snake.

After fome time the creature plunged backwards into the water,
and then turned its tail up above the furface a whole fhip-length
from the head *. . The following evening we had very bad wea-
ther.” So far Mr. Egede. The drawing annexed gives me the
greateft reafon to conclude, (what by other accounts I have
thought probable) that there are Sea-{nakes, like other F ith, of
different forts. That which Mr. Egede. faw, and probably all
thofe who failed with him, had under its body two flaps, or per-
haps two broad fins ;. the head was longer, and the body thicker +,
but much fhorter than thofe Sea-fnakes, of which Ihave had the
moft confiflent-accounts.. “hough one cannot have-an opportu-
nity of taking the exa@dimenfions of this creature, yet ‘all that
have feen it are unanimous in affirming, as far as they can judge
at a diftance, it appears to be-of the length of a cable, i.e.
reo fathoms, or 600 Englith feet §; ‘that it lies on the furface
7 : we iolstilier, 2 | of

* Iremember to have feen this Sea-fnake reprefented in a large picture at Mr. Jacob

Severin’s, who then had the care of the expeditions to Greenland, under his majefty’s
commiffion, and had put a Latin verfe under it; the purport of -which was, as far as
I can remember, that he looked with difdain upon that infernal Dragon, that feems
to frighten all, that come there with the defign of enlightening and converting the
Greenland heathens. \ ; )
+ In the New Survey of Old Greenland, p- 48, the before mentioned Mr. Egede
{peaks of the fame monfter, with this addition, that the body was full as thick and
as big in.circumference as the fhip that he failed in, Mr. Bing, one of the miffiona-
ries, that took a-drawing of if, informed his brother-in-law, Mr. Sylow, minifter of
Hougs in this diocefe,. that this creature’s eyes feemed red, and like burning fire; all
which makes it appear that it was not the common Sea-{nake.

§, It was probably, from the appearance of this creature, that the valiant king

Oluf

199

2Q0

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.

of the water (when it is very calm) in many folds, and that
there are in a line with the head, fome fmall parts of the back
to be feen above the furface of the water when it moves or bends.
Thefe at a diftance appear like fo many casks or hogfheads float-
ing in a line, with a confiderable diftance between each of them.
Mr. Tuchfen of Herroe, whom I mentioned above, is the only
perfon, of the-many correfpondents I have, that informs me he
has obferved the difference between the body and the tail of this
creature as to thicknefs.

It appears that this creature does not, like the Eel or Land-
fnake, taper gradually to a point, but the body, which looks to
be as big as two hogfheads, grows remarkably fmall: at once jut
where the tail begins, The head in all the kinds has a high
and broad forehead, but in fome a pointed f{nout, though in
others that is flat, like that of acow or ahorfe, with large noftrils,
and feveral ftiff hairs ftanding out on. each fide like whiskers.

It is f{uppofed that the Sea-{nakes have a very quick fmell, which
we may conclude from this, that they are obferved to fly from
the fmell of caftor. Upon this account thofe that go out on
Stor-Egegen to fith in the Summer, always provide themfelves
with thefe animals. They add, that the eyes of this creature are —
very large, and of a blue colour, and look like a couple of bright
pewter plates. The whole animal is of a dark-brown colour,
but it is fpeckled and variegated with light freaks or fpots, that
fhine like tortoife-fhell.. It is of a darker hue about the eyes
and mouth than elfewhere, and appears in that part a good deal
like thofe horfes, which we call Moors-heads. -

T donot find by any of my correfpondents, that they {pout
the water out of their noftrils ike the Whale, only in that one
inftance related by Mr. Egede, as mentioned above : but when it
approaches, it puts the water in great agitation, and makes it run
like the current at a mill. Thofe on our coaft differ likewife from
the Greenland Sea-fnakes, with regard to the skin, which is as
fmooth as glafs, and has not the leaft wrinkle, but about ie
neck, where there isa kind of a mane, which looks like a parcel
of fea-weeds hanging down to the water. Some fay it annually
theds its skin like the Land-fnake ; and it is affirmed, that a few
years fince there was tobe feen at Kopperwilg, a cover for a
table made of the skin of one of thefe fnakes, This raifed my

Oluf Trygvinfen, called his matchlefs fhip of war Ormen Lange, that is, Longs |
fnake. This extraordinary veffel carried 1000 armed men, who, with their gilded |
fhields hanging over on each fide of the thip, gave this inanimate Sea-fnake an ap>.
pearance not inferior to tg living one. . “a

curiofity| |

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

curiofity to know the truth, and accordingly I wrote thither for
proper information, defiring the favour of a flip of it, by way
of fpecimen ; but it feems there was no fuch thing, at leaft not at
that time. befides, a man that came from the place told me he
had never heard any thing of it. This perfon however inform’d
me, that in the year 1720 a Sea-fnake had lain a whole week in
a creek near that place ; that it came there at high water, through
a narrow channel, about feven or eight feet broad, but went away,
after lying there a whole week, as mentioned above, and left be-
hind it a skin} which this man, whofe name is Thorlack Thor-
lackfen, declares he faw and handled. This skin lay with one
end under water in the creek, and therefore, how long it was
no-body could tell. It feems the creek within that channel is {e-
veral fathoms deep, and. it lay ftretched out a great way; but
the other end of the flouth had been driven afhore by the tide,
where it lay a long time, for every body to examine. He {aid it
did not feem fit to make a covering fora table, unlefs it had been
properly drefled, or fome other way prepared for that purpofe;
for it was,not hard and compact, like a skin, but rather of a foft
and flimy confiftence, fomething like the Manete before-deferib’d.
Even the body itfelf is faid to be of the fame nature, as Tam
informed by thofe who, by accident, once caught a young one,
and laid it upon the deck of the fhip. It died inftantly,
though no-body dar’d to go near it even then, till they were ob-
liged to throw it overboard, by the infupportable ftink which
was caufed by the foft and vifcid flime, to which it was at length
dilfolved by the a&tion of the wind*. It feems the wind is fo
deftruGive to this creature, that, as_has been obferved before, it
is never feen on the furface of the water, but in the greatest
calm, and the leaft guft of wind drives it immediately to the bot-
tom again. One of thefe Sea-fnakes was feen at Amunds Vaagen,
in Nordfiord, fome years ago. It came in between the rocks,
probably at high water, and died there. It was obferved that
the carcafe eccafioned an intolerable ftench for a long time. Te

* ‘We have the fame account from Pere Labat, of a {mall Sea-ferpent, about four feet

long, and as thick as a man’s arm. His words are, ‘Nous l’attachames au mit apres
avoir aflommé pour voir quelle figure il auroit le lendemain. Nous connumes com-

bien notre bonheur avoit été grand, de n’avoir point touché a ce poifion, qui fans dotte’ -

nous auroit tous empoifonnez. Car nous trouvames le matin qu’il s’étoit entierement
diffous en une eau verdatre & puante, qui avoit coulé fur le pont, fans qu’il reftat pre-
fque autre chofe que la peau & la refte, quoi qu’il nous eut paru le foir fort ferme 8
fort bon. Nous conclumes, ou que ce poiffon étoit empoifonné par accident, ou que
de fa nature ce n’étoit qu’un compofé de venin. Je crois que c’étoit quelque vipere
marin. J’en ay parle a plufieurs pefcheurs & autres gens de mer, fans avoir jamais
pu étre bien eclairci de ce que je voulois fcavoir touchant ce poiffon. Nouveaux Voy-
ages aux Ifles Francoifes de ’Amerique, Tom. v. cap, xiv. p. 335.

Part ILI. Ff f is

*

201

202 |

Danger.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

is faid the fame alfo happened at the Ifland of Karmen, and in
feveral other places. I wifh that, on fuch opportunities, fome-
body had examined the creature carefully, to fee whether it had
a firong back bone, which feems neceflary to fupport fuch a
length. ah

The Shark kind, which are alfo-of the cartilaginous clafs, and
without other bones ; yet have a back-bone, though that is but
very flender, even in the largeft fpecies, which are often twenty
feet in length. The Sea-fnake feems alfo to be, like the Shark,
Fel, and Whale-kind, viviparous. It appears that they feek their
mates at a certain time of the year, in order, as it is faid, to
couple. For this reafon it 1s fuppofed they follow fhips and boats
at thofe times, which probably appear to them to be creatures of
their own kind. If this, which I have from the accounts of our
fea-faring people, be true, then I conclude they are miftaken, who
fuppofe that the Sea-fnake does not breed in the fea, but on dry
land ; and that it lives in rocks and woods, till it can no longer
be concealed, and then betakes itfelf to rivers, in order to get
into the fea. There are fome that pretend they have feen all
this.

In the chapter of Land-fnakes and Infe&s I have already ob-
ferved, that fuch a fudden tranfition from the frefh to the falt
water feems very improbable. However, I will not entirely dif-
believe what is related of Water-fnakes being feen in frefh
lakes, fome of which, in Sundfiord and Uland, are famous for
thefe creatures; fo that the inhabitants of the adjacent countries
dare not venture to row acrofs them in a boat.

| Sidkcddy ksi gts
I return again to the Sea-fnake, properly fo called, or the

Serpent of the Ocean, and particularly to the moft interefting

inquiry concerning them, which is, Whether they do mankind
any injury? And in what manner they may hurt the human fpe-
cies? Arndt, Bernfen, in his Account of the Fertility of Den-
mark and Norway, p. 308, affirms that they do; and fays, that
the Sea-{nake, as well as the Trold-whale, often finks both men
and boats. 1 have not heard any account of fuch an accident
hereabouts, that might be depended upon ; but the North traders
inform me of what: has frequently happened with them, namely,

that the Sea-{nake has raifed itfelf up, and thrown itfelf acrofs a

boat, and fometimes even acrofs a veffel of fome hundred tons
burthen, and by its weight has funk it down to the bottom. One
of the aforefaid North traders, who fays that he has been near

| enough

NATURALHISTORY of NORWAY. 203

enough to fome of thefe Sea-fnakes (alive) to feel their fmooth
skin, informs me, that fometimes they will raife up their frightful
heads, and fnap a man out of a boat, without hurting the reft: —
but I will not affirm this for a truth, becaufe it is not certain that
they are a Fifh of prey. Yet this, and their enmity to mankind,
ean ‘be no more determined, than that of the Land-fnake, by
the words of the prophet Amos, Cap. ix. v. 3. “ And though
they be hid from my fight in the bottom of the fea, thence will
{ command the ferpent, and he fhall bite them.”
It is faid that they fometimes fling themfelves ina wide circle
round a boat, fo that the men are furrounded on all fides. This
Snake, I obferved before, generally appears on the water in folds
or coils; and the fifhermen, from a known cuftom in that
cafe, never row towards the openings, or thofe places where the
body is not feen, but is concealed under the water; if they did,
the Snake would raife itfelf up, and overfet the boat. On the
contrary, they row full againft the higheft part that is vifible,
which makes the Snake immediately dive; and thus they are re-
Jeafed from their fears... This is their method when they cannot
avoid them: but when they feeone of thefe creatures at a di-
{tance, they row away with all their might (by which they fome-
times injure their health) towards\\the fhore,; or into:a creek,
where it, cannot follow them. i -
When they are far from land it:would be in vain to-attempt to
row away from them; for thefe creatures {hoot through the water
like an arrow out of a bow, feeking conftantly the coldeft places*.
In this cafe they put the former method in execution, or lye
upon their oars, and throw any thing that comes to hand at
them. If it be but a fcuttle, or any light thing, fo they. be
touch’d; they generally plunge! into the water, or take another
courfe. Of late our fifhermen have found the way, in the warm
Summer months, of providing themfelves with caftor, which they
always carry with them when they go far out to fea: they fhut -
it up ina hole in the ftern, and’ if at any time they are particu-
larly apprehenfive of meeting with the Sea-fnake, they throw a
little of it over-board ; for by frequent experience they know of
a certainty, that it always avoids this drug. Luke Debes tells
us, in his Feeroa referata, p. 167, that in that country alfo they
ufe it with the fame fuccefs, as the beft defence againft the Trold
Whale, a Fifh that likewife often overfets boats, but which has
a great averfion to caftor and fhavings of juniper wood. Thefe

Prefervation.

_ * They generally tack about their boat; fo that if the Snake will purfue them, it
pauft look againft the Sun, which its eyes will not bear,

they

204.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. |

they throw out to him therefore when in danger. The author,
juft cited alfo fays, that various experiments confirm this fingular
phzenomenon, that if any man has caftor about him when in the
water, he finks inftantly to the bottom like a ftone, though he
be ever fo good a fwimmer. For the truth of this he relies upon
the Teftimony of Thom. Bartholin. in Centur. II. Hiftor. Anatom.
Hift. 17, p. 201.

‘An eminent apothecary here has informed me, that, inftead of
caftor, our fifhermen provide themfelves with nothing but Affla
feetida, by way of defence againft the hurtful Sea-animals: for if
what they carry have but a ftrong {mell, it has the fame effe&
upon thofe Sea-{nakes, &c. befides, Alla feetida comes at a lower
price than caftor. 14 |

In the remote parts of Norway, according to fome accounts,
people have been poifoned with the excrements of the Sea-ferpent,
which are often feen here, efpecially in Nordland, in the Summer
months, floating on the water like-a fat flime. This vifcid matter

«1s fuppofed by our fifhermen to’ be fomewhat vomited up by them,

?

or elfe their {perm, or fome other humour. If a fifherman finds
this matter near his net, and inadvertently lets any of it touch
his hand, it will occafion a painful {welling and inflammation,
which has often proved fo dangerous as to require an amputation
of the limb. . cachey®
Mr.,Peter Dafs, in his Defcription of Nordland, is of opinion
that this Sea-ferpent may be called the Leviathan, or the Dragon _
of the ocean: I fhall give the reader fome verfes he has publithed

on this fubject.

“ Om Soe-Ormen veed jeg ey nogen Beikeed,

Jeg haver ham aldrig med Oynene feed,
Begierer ey heller den Aire;

Dog kiender jeg mange, fom mig have fagt,

Hvis Ord jeg og giver fandferdelig Magt,
Han maa ret forfeerdelig veere.

Naar Julius gaaer i fin fyrftelig Stads,
Og Phoebus omvanker 1-Luftens Pallads,
Da lader fig det Dyr fornemme.
Der figes, han er af en faadan Natur
Hyad Baad han fornemmer det fkadelig Diur,
Han tiendes efter mon {vaemme,

Umaadelig

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 205

Umaadelig fluttes hans Storlighed og,
Det vel af Forfarenhed viifes kand nok ;
Thi de hannem komme i Mode

Fortelle, han ligger i Lengden udftrakt,
Som hundrede Les var paa Havet udlagt,
| Som Moding paa Ageren ode.

Mig tykkes han lignes maa Behemots Magt
Samt og Leviathan, fom holder F oragt
Al Vaaben og bevende Spidée ;
Thi Jernet er hannem fom ftilker og Hor,
Og Raaber fom Quiften der raadner og doer,
Det Gud os befkriver til viffe.

Which being tranflated literally runs thus:

The great Sea-{nake’s the fubje@& of my verfe ;
For tho’ my eyes have never yet beheld him,
Nor ever fhall defire the hideous fight ;
Yet many accounts of men of truth unftain’d,
Whole ev’ry word I firmly do believe,
Shew it to be a very frightful monfter.

When Julius enters in his princely ftate,
And Sol turns back in his aerial courfe,
Then does this hideous monfter firft appear.
It’s faid that fuch is the pernicious nature
Of this dire Snake, that every boat he fees,
He firft purfues, and then attempts to fink.

Immenfe his fize, enormous is his bulk ;
Which by the experience, may be plainly fhown,
Of thofe that have beheld this frightful monfter.
When on the fea he lies, ftretched at his length,
He feems a hundred loads; fo vaft his bulk !

Methinks he feems another Behemoth,
Or the Leviathan,. who doth defpife
All arms, as fwords, and guns, and glittering {pears ;
For iron is to him like ftraw or flax,
And copper like the twigs that bend or break :
For thus he is defcrib’d in facred writ.

Part II. Ggg SECT.

206

If it can be
the Leviathan
rather than
the Whale.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWVAY.

an omen IX.

I have quoted thefe, verfes, as a kind of a teftimony to the
exiftence and properties of this extraordinary creature. “The fup-
pofition that the Sea:fnake anfwers.the defcription of the Levi-
athan better than any jother animal. yet known 5 and may be
underftood by the Leviathan, or the Crooked-ferpent, [faiah
xxvil. 1. that fhall flay the Dragon that is in the fea; or that
it may be the Long=ferpent mentioned in Job xxvi. 133 is not
without fome foundation: °'That it is the Piercing-ferpent or the
Boom-ferpent, Serpens ve&tis, according to fome authors, is not
improbable F for they often lie {tretched out before a creek, like
a boom, to block up the paffage. If Bochart had had any
knowledge of this creature,''which 1s very little known any
where but in the North, he probably would not have taken the
Whale to be the Leviathan. “ Cetum Hebrei tifdem nominibus
appellant quibus draconem nempe Thannin & Leviathan, aut ob
formee fimilitudinem, aut ratione molis, & quia Cetus in aqua-
tilibus tantum preftat, quantum in reptilibus preftant virtute
Dracones.”” Hierozoic. Lib. i. cap. vi. p. 45. The fimilitude of
{fhape, which writers urge betwixt the Whale and the Dragon, is
what I cannot find out ; nor can I difcover how this author (whom
I otherwife efteem as orie of the moft learned men the world ever
produced) comes to fay, in the fame place, p. 50, “ Balzenam
multi volunt ideo dici m3 wri Serpentem vectis, Ifaiah xxvii. 1.
quod ab uno maris extremo ad alterum, vectis inftar, attingat.”
This does not at all agree with the Whale, whiclis ufually bat
50, 70, or at moft 80 feet in length * ; at leaft not near fo well
as with the Sea-{nake. The leuyth of this creature, as I obferved
above, according to our fifhermen, who have feen them, is equal
to that of a cable, that is, 600 feet. Thefe Sea-fnakes alfo, like
other creatures, may not be all exactly of a fize; but fome, per-
haps, may be found twice as large as others of their kind, as may
be obferved of the Land-fhakes, which differ very much in fize.
I have been informed by fome of our fea-faring men, that a cable
would not be long enough to meafure the length of fome of them,
when they are obferved on the furface of the water in an even
line. They fay thofe round lumps or folds fometimes lie, one

* Bochart in the fame place difclaims the Talmuditts. palpable falfities, about ithe
Whale’s fize, &c. ‘* Hebrai fzpe mendaces in hoe argumento; potiffimum men
tiuntur liberalifime. In illis modeftiffimi cetis quingentorum ftadiorum longityudinem
affignant, hoc eft milliarium plus fexaginta. In Tractatu’ Talmudico Bava Bathra,
fol. 73. col. 2. Navis quaedam in dorfo ceti navigans, -iter ab una pinna ad alteram,

tertio demum, die confecit.
a after

NATURAL HISTORY of WORWAY.

after another, as far'ds a man'can fee. “I conféfs, if this be true,

that we muft-fuppole moft probably that it isnot one Snake, but
two ormore of thefe creatures lying in a line, that exhibit this phz-
nomeion. ‘This may happefi'as they follow one another, efpecially
at ithe, time: of the ‘year when-they fpawn, or couple together :
at this feafon alfo they thay be induced to follow boats, as I have
mentioned before. I muft obferve farther, that what the word
of God-fays,;\in the’ place ‘already ‘cited, of the Leviathan, viz.
thatoit 13: both a ‘PoleMerpent and a Crooked-ferpent, i. e. he is
foon bent: i a*curve, and foon ‘ftretched again in a ftrait. line,
agrees perfectly with this Sea-fnake, according to what has already
been faid*. It may not be thought fuperfluous here to quote
the words of Mr J. Ramus, in his Defcription of Norway,
p+ 43, which is ab follows.’ “ Anno'1687, a large Sea-{nake was
feen by many people in Dramsfiorden ; and at one time by eleven
perfons together. It was in very calm weather; and fo foon as
the fun appeared, and the wind blew a little, it fhot away juft
like a coiled cable, that is fuddenly thrown out by the failors ;
and they obferved that it was fome time in ftretching out its many
folds. Ol:‘Magnus, in his Hiftor.'Séptentrion. Lib. xxi. c. 2d,
ipeaks of a Norvegian Sea-fnakeé 80 feet long, but not thicker
than a-child’s arm). Eft in littottbus Norvegicis vermis glauci
coloris,. longitudine xl. -cubitorum;:& amplius vix fpiffitudinem
infantis brachii habens.” This creattire, he fays, was. put to
fuch pain by the Crabs faftening on it, that it writhed it@lf into

ahundred fhapes. I have never heard of this fort from’ any other

perion,. atid fhowldshardly’believé’ thé good Olaus, ‘if hé did not
fay that he affirmed this ‘from his own experience. “ Hunc
vermem feepius vidi, ab <juctaQa, nattarim informatione, abfti-
nens.”?, —~++ —- » The difproportion betwixt. the thicknefs of a
child’s, arm; and a'length'of 80’ feét, makes me think there mu
be an errorof the’ prefs in thé place, for’ xl. perhaps fhould be

x1. ells, or 22 feet; a mor€ proportionable length for the thick-"

nefs. Of the other Seazfnake the fame author writes afterwards,
chap. xxvii. but he mixes truth’ and fable together, according to
the relations’ of others ; but this was excufable in that dark age,

_*If anyone enquires: how many folds may; be counted-on a Sea-fnake, the anfwer
isy that the number is not always the fame, but depends upon the. various fizes
of them: five-anditwenty' isthe greatet number I find ‘well attefted. Adam Ole-
arius, in his, Gottorf, Mufaum,.-p,1,7;: writes of it thus: A, petfon of diftinGion
from Sweden, related here at Gottorf, that he had heard the burgomafter of Mal-
moe, a very worthy man, fay, that as he was once ftanding on the top of a high
hill towards the North fea, he faw in the water, which was very calm, a Snake,
whieh appeared at that diftance to be as thick as a pipe of wine, and had 25 folds.
_ Thofe kind of Snakes only appear at certain times, and in calm weather,”

when °

207

208 NATURAL HISTORY of VORV4Y._

when that author wrote. Notwithftanding all this, we in the
prefent more enlighten’d age are much obliged to him, for his
induftry, and judicious obfervations. The fam of what he
relates in that place is this: “* Thofe that vifit the coafts of
Norway tell us of a very ftrange pheenomenon ; namely, that ~
there is in thofe feas a Snake 200 feet long, and 20 feet round,
which lives in the hollows of the rocks, and under the cliffs,
about Bergen, (but in this he errs) and goes out in moon-light
nights to devour calves, fheep, and {wine ; or elfe it goes to
the fa, and catches Star-fith, Crabs; &c. It has a mane two
feet long; it is covered with {cales, and has fiery eyes: it
difturbs fhips, and raifes itfelf up like a maft; and fometimes
{naps fome of the men from the deck.” So far that writer,
who, in the remainder of the chapter, {peaks of that great Water-
ferpent in Miofen on Hedemarken, that foretold the king’s death,
and the great changes that were to happen, according to the
fuperftitious notions of that age. | |

aah, wekis Welt.

Before I leave this fubje&, it may be proper to anfwer a
queftion that may be put by fome people; namely, what reafon
can be affigned why this Snake of fuch extraordinary fize, &c.
The North fhould be found in the North fea only ? For, according to all
ae | accounts from {ea-faring people, it has never been {een any where
Place. elfe. Thofe who have failed in other feas in different parts of
the globe, have, in their journals, taken particular notice of
other Sea-monfters; but not one of them mentions this. To
this I anfwer, that when the thing is confirmed by unqueftion-
able evidence, and is found to be true, then this objection
requires no other anfwer, than that the Lord of nature difpofes
of the abodes of his various creatures, in different parts of the.
globe, according to his wife purpofes and defigns: the reafon of
~his proceedings cannot, nor ought to be comprehended by us.
Why does not the Rain-deer thrive in any other climate, except
on.the cold and bleak mountains of the North? Why does
the enormous Whale keep only in thofe icy regions that are
contiguous to the pole? Or, why are the Indies and Egypt the
only places where the Crocodile exhibits his hideous form, and
terrifies the unwary traveller? No other reafon can be afligned
but this, namely, becaufe the wife Creator has thought fit that
it fhould be fo ; and whatever he wills is right, and ordered for
the beft.
While

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 209
While Iam fpeaking of Egypt, I recolle& from the affociation Ls Ser,

of ideas, that though I have not read of any Sea-ferpénts in UGE
thofe parts of the globe, yet I find that in Egypt, and other

places in Africa, there are found in frefh-water lakes and rivers a

{fpecies of Serpents, almoft as large as that which I am treating

of, and even more dangerous. | |

Pliny fays, in his Hift. Nat. Lib. vi: cap. xiv. “¢ Megafthenes
{cribit, in India ferpentes in tantam magnitudinem adolefcere, ut
folidos hauriant cervos taurofque. ~ Metrodorus circa Rhyndacum
amnem in Ponto ut fupervolantes, quamtumvis alte perniciterque
alites hauftu raptas abforbeant. Nota eft in Punicis bellis ad flu-
men Bagradam a Regulo Imperatore baliftis tormentifque ut oppi-
dum aliquod expugnata ferpens exx. pedum longitudinis. Pellis
ejus maxillzeque ufque ad bellum Numantinnm duravere Rome in
templo. - Faciunt his fidem in Italiam appellate Box, in tantam
amplitudinem exeuntes, ut divo Claudio Principe, occife in Vati-
cano folidus in alvo fpectatus fit infans. Aluntur primo bubuli
lactis fucco, unde nomen traxere. Cceterorum animalium, que
- modo convedla undique Italie contigere fepius, formas nihil atti-
net {crupulofe referre.”’

What is here related, concerning a Serpent that was killed
near the river Bagrada in Africa, feems almoft incredible, though
it is confirmed by Livy in his 29th decade, primi belli Punici,
and by Valer. Max. Lib. i. cap. ult. One could hardly be able
to comprehend or believe that a Serpent could {top a whole Ro-
man army, and difpute their paflage acrofs a river; or that it
killed many of the people, who, with their beft weapons, could
hardly wound it: but we fee on what authorities it is fupported.
Still more ftrange is that ftory which Diodorus Siculus, Lib. i. re-
lates of a Serpent in Egypt, 60 feet long, which, though but {mall
in comparifon of thofe we have been {peaking of, yet is in ap-
pearance too large to be caught, and carried alive to Alexandria,
to be prefented to king Ptolomy the Second.

This great prince was eminent for his curiofity, he was de-
firous of feeing: every thing that was ftrange or fearce. Thofe
that brought him elephants, or any other uncommon animals,
were liberally rewarded. By this means the Greeks became ac-
quainted with many things that were before utterly unknown to
them. Such a laudable curiofity, and fo noble a fpirit in a king,
to reward all thofe that contributed to pleafe and inftruG him,
prevailed upon a company of huntfmen to attempt to bring him
the aforefaid great Serpent, which lived chiefly in the water, but
ftrayed afhore from its proper element a confiderable diftance

Parr IT. Hhh . every

210

Kraken, or
Korven, the
largeft crea-
ture in the
world.

NATURAL HISTORY off VORWAY.

every day, to make a prey of the farmers cattle for his fub-

fiftence. Their firft attack, which was very vigorous, failed, as

the hiftorian fays, and coft about twenty of them their lives; but
as the reft grew more experienced by this lofs, they would not
relinquifh their enterprize, being in hopes of receiving a greater
reward, in cafe they fhould fucceed. They conquered it at laff,
by making a large net of very ftrong ropes, and watching their
opportunity when the creature went out in fearch of prey ; then
they ftopped up the way it ufually took in its return, and made
a kind of a defile, through which it was obliged to pafs. At
the end of this they placed the net, and drove the monfter into
it. When they had thus fecured it, they carried it to the king,
who gave them a reward fuited to the flrangenefs of the creature,
and the hazard of their enterprize. The Serpent was faved to
be a fight for ftrangers who vifited Ptolemy’s court, and had
every day a large allowance of proper food. The author con-
cludes from this what Odoard. Dapper, and other writers of later
date, confirm, namely, that in Aithiopia, and otlier parts of
Africa, there are Serpents large enough to devour not only oxen,
but alfo the largeft elephants, firft by twifting themfelves about
their legs, and after thus entangling them, they overpower them

with eafe.

S EG Ts, XI.

I am now come to the third and inconteftibly the largeft Sea~
monfter in the world ; it is called Kraken, Kraxen, or, as fome
name it, Krabben, that word being applied by way of eminence
to this creature. This la{t name feems indeed beft to agree with
the defcription of this creature, which is round, flat, and full of
arms, or branches. Others call it alfo Horven, or Soe-horven,
and fome Anker-trold. Among all the foreign writers, both
ancient and modern, which I have had opportunity to confult
on this fubje&, not one of them feems to know much of this
creature, or at leaft to have a juft idea of it. What they fay
however of floating iflands, as they apprehended them to be,
(a thing improbable that they fhould exift in the wild tumultuous
ocean) fhall afterwards be fpoken of, and will be found appli-
cable without any hyperbole to this creature, when 1 fhall have
firft given fome account of it. This I fhall do according to what
has been related to mé by my correfpondents, and what I have
otherwife colle€ted by an induftrious enquiry and examination
into every particular, concerning which I could receive intelli-

gence. All this, in comparifon to the unknown nature and con-
| ftruction

NATURAL HISTORY off VORVAY.

ftru@ion of the creature, is very fhort of a perfec account, de-
ficient, and calculated to awake rather than fatisfy the reader’s
curiofity. Bochart might therefore with reafon fay, Lib. 1. cap.
6, with Oppian. Halieut. cap. 1. In mari multa latent, 1. e. In
the ocean many things are hidden. Amongft the many great
things which are in the ocean, and concealed from our eyes, or
only prefented to our view for a few minutes, is the Kraken:
This creature is the largeft and moft furprizing of all the animal
création, and confequently well deferves {uch an account as the
nature of the thing, according to the Creator’s wife ordinance,
will admit of. Such I fhall give at prefent, and perhaps much
greater light in this fubje& may be referved for pofterity, accord-
ing to the words of the fon of Sirach, ‘* Who hath feen him, that
he might fell us? and who can magnify him as he is? There are

yet hid greater things than thefe be, for we have feen but a -

few of his works.” Eccluf. chap. xii. ver. 31, 32.

SIE. C.D, 3 XID

Zit

Our fifhermen unanimoufly affirm, and without the leaft varia- Defeiption.

tion in their accounts, that when they row out feveral miles to
fea, particularly in the hot Summer days, and by their fituation
(which they know by taking a view of certain points of land)
expe to find 80 or roo fathoms water, it often happens that
they do not find above 20 or 30, and fometimes lefs. At thefe
places they generally find the greateft plenty of Fifth, efpecially
Cod and Ling. Their lines they fay are no fooner out than they
may draw them up with the hooks all full of Fifth; by this they
_ judge that the Kraken is at the bottom. They fay this creature
caufes thofe unnatural fhallows mentioned above, and prevents
their founding. Thefe the fifhermen are always glad to find, look-
ing upon them as a means of their taking abundance of Fith.
There are fometimes twenty boats or more got together, and
throwing out their lines at a moderate diftance from each other ;

and the only thing they then have to obferve is, whether the
depth continues the fame, which they know by their lines, or

whether it grows fhallower by their feeming to have lefs water.

Tf this laft be the cafe, they find that the Kraken is raifing him-

felf nearer the furface, and then it is not time for them to flay
any longer; they immediately leave off fifhing, take to their oars,

and get away as faft as they can. When they have reached the

ufual depth of the place, and find themfelves out of danger,

they lie upon their oars, and in a few minutes after they fee this

enormous monfter come up to the furface of the water; he there

. | fhows

2Z1I2Z

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.
fhows himfelf fufficiently, though his whole body does not ap-

pear, which in all likelihood no human eye ever beheld (except-
ing the young of this fpecies, which fhall afterwards be fpoken
of;) its back or upper part, which feems to be in appearance
about an Englifh mile and an half in circumference, (fome fay

~more, but I chufe the leaft for greater certainty) looks at. firft

like a number of {mall iflands, furrounded with fomething that
floats and fluctuates like fea-weeds.. Here and, there a. larger
rifing is obferved like fand-banks, on which various. kinds of
fmall Fifhes are feen continually leaping about till they role off
into the water from the fides of it; at laft feveral bright points
or horns appear, which grow thicker and thicker the higher they
rife above the furface of the water, and fometimes they {tand up.
as high and as large as the mafts of middle-fiz’d veffels.

It feems thefe are the creature’s arms, and, it is faid, if they
were to lay hold of the largeft man of war, they would pull it
down tothe bottom. After this monfter has been on the furface
of the water a fhort time, it begins flowly to fink again, and
then the danger is as great as before; becaufe the motion of his
finking caufes fach a {well in the fea, and fuch an eddy or whirl-
pool, that it draws every thing down with it, like the current of
the river Male, which has been defcribed in its proper place.

As this enormous Sea-animal in all probability may be reckon’d
of the Polype, or of the Star-fifh kind, as fhall hereafter be more.
fully proved, it feems that the parts which are feen rifing at its
pleafure, and are called arms, are properly the tentacula, or feel-
ing inftruments, called horns as well asarms. With thefe they
move themfelves, and likewife gather in their food.

Befides thefe, for this laft purpofe the great Creator has alfo
given this creature a {trong and peculiar feent; which it can emit
at certain times, and by means of which it beguiles and draws
other Fifth to come in heaps about it. This animal has another
ftrange property, known by the experience of a great many old
fifhermen. They obferve, that for fome months the Kraken or
Krabben is continually eating, and. in other months he always
voids his excrements. During this evacuation the furface of the
water is coloured with the excrement, and appears quite thick
and turbid. This muddinefs is faid to be fo very agreeable to the
fell or tafte of other Fifhes, or to both, that they. gather toge-
ther from all parts to it, and keep for that purpofe direGily over
the Kraken: he then opens his arms, or horns, feizes and {wal-
lows his welcome guefts, and converts them, after the due time,

by digeftion, into a bait for other Fith of the fame kind. I velage
y . what

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

what is affirmed by many; but I cannot give fo certain affurances
of this particular, as 1 can of the exiftence of this furprizing
creature ; though I do not find any thing in it abfolutely contrary
to nature. As we can hardly expect an opportunity to examine
this enormous fea-animal alive, I am the more concerned that no-
body embraced that opportunity which, according to the fol-
lowing account, once did, and perhaps never more may offer, of
fecing it entire when dead. The reverend Mr. Friis, confiftorial
afleflor, minifter of Bodoen in Nordland, and vicar of the college
for promoting chriftian knowledge, gave me at the latter end of
laft year, when he was at Bergen, this relation ; which I deliver
‘again on his credit. | |

In the year 1680 a Krake (perhaps a young and carelefs one)
came into the water that runs between the rocks and cliffs in the
parifh of Alftahoug, though the general cuftom of that creature
is to keep always feveral leagues from land, and therefore of
courfe they muft die there. It happened that its extended long
arms, or antenne, which this creature feems to ufe like the Snail,
in turning about, caught hold of fome trees ftanding near the
water, which might eafily have been torn up by the roots ;
but befide this, as it was found afterwards, he entangled himfelf
in fome openings or clefts in the rock, and therein {tuck fo faft,
and hung fo unfortunately, that he could not work himfelf out,
but perifhed and putrified on the fpot. The carcafe, which was
a long while decaying, and filled great part of that narrow channel,
made it almoft impaflable by its intolerable {tench.

The Kraken has never been known to do any great harm, except
they have taken away the lives of thofe who confequently could
not bring the tidings. I have never heard but one inftance men-
tioned, which happened a few years ago near Fridrichftad, in the
diocefs of Aggerhuus. ‘They fay that two fifhermen accidentally,
and to their great furprize, fell into fuch a fpot on the water
as has been before defcribed, full of a thick flime, almoft like a
morafs. They immediately ftrove to get out of this place, but
they had not time to tum quick enough to fave themfelves
from one of the Kraken’s horns, which crufhed the head of the
boat fo, that it was with great difficulty they, faved their lives on
the wreck, tho’ the weather was as calm as poflible ; for thefe
monfters, like the Sea-fnake, never appear at other times.

Parr Il. 3 Tii +) 1S Boer,

2135

214

Still farther

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA Y.

SEC T. Xiils
/ I have now given all the intelligence that has come to my

fi . t ° e 5
BAY masons Knowledge concerning this vaft, bat hitherto hardly at all known

Sea-animal ; and now I fhall relate farther, according to what I
think is moft probable, fome properties that may be prefumed to
belong to it. This may give fome light into the hiftory of it, and
alfo ferve as a farther confirmation of what has been faid concern-
ing it. Mr. Luke Debes, in his Defcription of Faroe, fpeaks of
certain iflands which fuddenly appear, and as fuddenly vanith.

_ This was a thing no-body could comprehend ; fo that one ought

A notion of
floating
iflands,

not to wonder at the common people, and even thofe that were
a degree above them, for looking upon thofe moving iflands to
be inhabited by evil fpirits, which appeared fometimes in fuch
places where the fea-men, by daily experience, knew very well
that there was no fuch thing asa rock, much lefs an ifland ; but
however, they often found fomething at fea which had the ap-
pearance of land, and confequently were confounded, made falfe
reckonings, and were taken out of their courfe, and brought
into the greateft inconveniences*. Many fea-faring people give
accounts of fuch appearances of land, and their fuddenly vanifhing
away, and particularly here in the North-fea. Thefe iflands, in
the boifterous ocean, cannot be imagined to be of the nature of
thofe real floating iflands, that are feen on frefh and ftagnated
waters; and which I have obferved, P. I. c. 3, are found here in
Norway, and in other places... Thefe could: not poffibly hold or
ftand againft the violence of the waves in the ocean, which break
the largeft veffels ; and therefore our failors have concluded this
delufion could come from no other than that great deceiver the
devil. But, according to the laws of truth, we ought not to
charge this apoftate fpirit without a caufe. 1 rather think that
this devil, who fo fuddenly makes and unmakes thefe floating
iflands, is nothing elfe but the Kraken, which fome fea-faring
people call Soe-draulen, that is, Soe-trolden, Sea-mifchief. What
confirms me in this opinion is the following occurrence, quoted
by that worthy Swedifh phyfician Dr. Urban Hierne, in his Short
Introdu&ion to an Enquiry into the Ores and Minerals of that
country, p. 98, from Baron Charles Grippenhielm. The quota-

* Concerning moving iflands, fee Everh. Harpelii Mund. Mirab. Tom. I. Lib. iv.
cap. 20,21; and in Thormod. Torf. there is a remarkable teftimony of the fame kind, —
concerning an ifland appearing in Breidefiord, on the coaft of Iceland, Annales notant,
emerfiffe ex undis infulam quandam vel rupes (An. 1345) antea nunquam vifas in finu
Iflandiz Brediafiordo. Hift. Norw. P. IV. L. ix. c. viii. p.477. It isa pity that he
does not tell us whether it always remained there.

tion

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY.:

tion is as follows: “ Amongft the rocks about Stockholm there is
-fometimes feen a certain tra& of land, which at other times dif-
appears, and is feen again in another place. Burzus has placed
this as an ifland in his map. The peafants, who call it Gumars-
ore, fay that it is not always feen, and that it lies out in the open
fea, but I could never find it. One Sunday, when I was out
among the rocks, founding the coaft, it happened that, in one

place, I faw fomething like three points of land in the fea, which

furprisd me a little, and I thought that I had inadvertently
pafled them over before. Upon this, I called to a peafant to
enquire for Gummars-ore, but when he came we could fee nothing
of it; on which, the peafant faid all was well, and that this prog-
nofticated a ftorm, or a great quantity of Fifh, &c.”’ So far Grip-
penhielm. Now who is it that cannot difcover, at firft fight,
that this vifible and invifibleGummars-ore, with its points and
prognoftications of Fifh, cannot poflibly be any thing elfe but

the Kraken, Krabben, or Soe-horven, improperly placed in a map

by Bureus as an ifland. Probably the creature keeps himfelf al-
ways about that {pot, and often rifes up amongft the rocks and.
cliffs.

What the credulous Ol. Magnus, in Hift. Septentr. Lib. xx.
cip» 25, writes, of the Whale being fo large, that his back is
looked upon as an ifland; and that people might land, light
fires, and do various kinds of work upon it, is a notorioufly fabu-
bulous and ridiculous romance. His words are: “ Unde plerum-
que elevato dorfo fuo fuper undas, a navigantibus nihil aliud credi-
tur effe, quam infula. Itaque naute ad illum appellunt & fuper
eum afcendunt, palos figunt, naves alligant, focos pro cibis co-
quendis accendunt. Donec tandem cetus, fentiens ignem, fefe in
profundum mergat, &c. Arenas aliquando. dorfo fuo tollit, in
quibus, ingruente tempeftate, naute terram fe invenifle gaudentes,
anchoris demiffis, falfa firmitate quiefcunt, ac ignes accenfos bellua
fentiens, fubito commota fe in aquas mergit, hominefque cum na-
vibus, nifi anchore rumpantur, in profundum attrahit.” We may
eafily fee what gave occafion for mixing the probable with the im-
probable, by recollecting what has been obferved above of the
Kraken, of which people have had fome imperfe& idea for feve-
ralages back. Even Pliny, in his time, had heard fome obfcure ac-
count of fuch a Sea-animal as is here treated of. This may be

in Indico mari Priftris & Balena eft, in Gallico oceano Phyfeter,
ingentis columne modo fe attollens, altiorque navium velis dilu-
viem quandam eructans. In Gaditano oceano ARBOR, in tantum

Lid eet | vaftis

215

It was not en:
tirely un.
known to

concluded from his words in Lib, ix. cap. iv.. “ Maximum. animal Pliny.

uI6

NATURAL HISTORY of VORYVAY.

vaftis difpenfa ramis, ut ex ea caufa fretum nunquam intraffe cte-
datur. Apparent & ROTA! appellate a fimilitudine, quaternis
diftin&e radiis, modiclos eorum oculis duobus utrinque clauden-
tibus Tonis.” The double account that is here given of a crea-
ture which refembles a wheel, feparated into rays, or a tree,
with fuch large branches that it cannot get through a channel,
feems to agree with the accounts of the Kraken already given,
with his many large horns or branches, as it were fpringing up from
its body, which is round*. Both thefe defcriptions confirm my
former fuppofitions, namely, that this Sea-animal belongs to the
Polype or Star-fith {pecies, which have been particularly defcribed
in the preceding chapter. It feems to be of that Polypus kind
which is called by the Dutch Zee-fonne, by Rondeletius and
Gefner Stella Arborefcens, i.e. a Star which fhoots its rays into
branches like thofe of trees, according to the more exa& defcrip-
tion jaft referred to, where1 gave it the name of Medufa’s Head.

What I have farther to obferve is, that this curl’d fort of Star-
fifh, with fo many branches or rays, is very apt to flick to, and
entangle themfelves in the weeds and fhrubs that grow at the bot-
tom of the fea, and are often drawn up with them by the fifher-
men. When they are dried, and their branches are fhrunk in, they
are feldom above fix or eight inches in diameter 5 but when they
are juft taken out of the water they are much larger. A very
worthy perfon told me he had fome of them of an extraordinary
bignefs ; and others have feen them above four times as large as
the common fize, f{plafhing the water about with their numerous
branches or arms.

_ Thefe Medufa’s-heads are fuppofed, by fome fea-faring people
here, to be the young of the great Sea-krake ; perhaps they are
their fmalleft ovula : and I do not doubt but it is the fame
Medufa’s-head, or Stella Arborefcens, of which Mr. Griffith
Hugues treats in the Philofophical Tranfa@ions. This having
juft come into my hands, I fhall infert it; and fhall likewife add
to it, what has been quoted in the preceding chapter. “ Ila
decouvert une nouvelle efpece d’Etoile de mer, laquelle fort du
tocher par une efpece de pedicule, & elle exprime exactement la
figure rayonnée de la fleur d’une Ficoide. Mais cette fleur eft

*In that ancient manufcript called Speculum Regale, becaufe it is afcribed to
the Norvegian king Sverre, Ol. Wormius, who had the treatife in his hands, found
forne few words, which feem to allude to this the largeft creature of the ocean;
for when, in his Mufeum, p. 279, he is enumerating the various forts of Whales,
he concludes, p. 280, with the following words ; “‘ Reftat una fpecies, quam Hafgufe
vocant, Cujus magnitudo latet, cum raro confpiciatur. Illi, qui fe corpus vidiffe
fartant, fimiliorem infule quam Beltiz volunt, nec unquam ejus inventum cadaver,
quocirca funt qui exiftiment, non nifi duo ejus generis in natura efle,

prefque

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

prefque fenfitive. ‘Au moindre attouchement elle fe replie, & va
fe'cacher avec fon pédicule dans le rocher, d’ou elle etoit fortie.
Ses rayons font des bras, qui ont bien lair de ceux d’un Polype.

Quel charme pour un Phyficien, que de poffeder un Polype de

cette grandeur, & quelles obfervations n’y feroit il pas fur l’accro-
iffement & la reparation de fes parties ®” Biblioth. Raifonee, T.
XXXVii. p. 266. However this may be, it remains an unqueftion-
able truth, that certain kinds of Polypus’s grow to a monftrous
fize. Athanaf. Kircher fays, in his Mund. Subterran. P. I. p. 99;
that. in the Sicilian feas there are found a kind. of Star-fifh, which
have ten rays, or branches, and a body as big as that of a man:
but: this bears no proportion to the bignefs of a Whale, which
Athenzus, in Lib. xiii. cap. vi. attributes to fome of them. Pliny,
lib, ix. cap. xxx. fpeaks of a fort of Polypus of a monftrous
fize, by the name of Ozena *, becaufe it diffufes a ftrong fmell ;
for which reafon other Fifh are apt to follow them. | This fings-
‘larity agrees exa@ly with what has been faid already about the
Norvegian Krake, ‘© Mire omnibus marinis expetentibus odorem.””
Concerning the faid Polypus Pliny relates in the fame place,
according to the account he:had received from L. Lucullus, the
proconful of Betica, feveral ftrange ftories about their fize. and
firength ; as that they Jay along the coaft, where they would
fteal the merchants goods, and drag them away with their long
claws; fo that they were obliged to fet dogs upon them: that
thofe animals could not bear the ftrong fmell, and were alfo
feverely handled by the creatures ; and that it was with great
difficulty they killed them with iron forks, &c... ‘ Namque
& afflatu terribili canes agebat, nunc extremis crinibus flagellatos,
nunc’ robuftioribus. brachiis, clavorum modo incuffos, sgreque
multis tridentibus confici potuit.” We learn from all this, that the
Polype, or Star-fith, or, as wevcall it here, the whole genus of
Kors-Trold, have, amongft their various fpecies, fome that are
much larger than others; and, according to all appearance, even
the very largeft inhabitants of the ocean. If the axiom be true,
that greatnefs or littlenefs makes no change in the {pecies, then
this Krake muft be of the Polypus kind, notwithftanding its

enormous fize. All that I have further to add is this, that 4%! abou

the {mall Fith

were we to credit the old vulgar opinion, concerning a Fifh that Remox.

had power to ftop a fhip under full fail, we may conclude it
is impoflible that it fhould be that fmall Fifth, which from the
fable is called Remora, and-is not bigger than a Herring. f

'* Immo yero potius quod fuave quippiam oleat. Grzci ideo vocant poaririv, hoc
feculo Neapolitani Mufchardinum. Jacobus Dalecampius in Notis ad Plin. L. cit..
ParRT If. Kkk have

218

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

have one of thefé in my colledion ;\it has a’ roughnefs! on: the
head, fomething like a file, with. which fome people:are:-fo
fimple as to imagine, that this’ little diminutive creature can per-’
form the extraordinary operation mentioned above. -

The learned jefuit Gafp. Schottus, in his Phyfica:Curiofa,
cap. xiv. has thoroughly examined into the nature and » proba~
bility of this account ; and has confuted the learned Kircher -
entirely in this point. Among other reafons that are given for a
fhip’s being ftopt in her courfe in the middle of the fea, tho’
under full fail witha good wind, which is an undeniable fa, he
reckons the conflux of rivers from fevcsal places ftruggling toge-
ther to be one caufe. This opinion has fome probability, and
that ftrange effect is really owing to this caufe in fome places :
but be it asit will, Iam apt to think that the Kors-Trold, or
Soe-Drawl, fo: much talked of by the failors, and which they

_ reckon an evil fpirit, can be no other'than the Kraken, which,

according to the defcription given above, feems to be able with
its arms, or horns, to bring about this ftrange effe&. Hence,
perhaps, it is called, among many other names, by that of
Anker-Trold'; tho’ I donot in the leaft infift upon this con«
jecture being true, but willingly fubmit my fuppofitions in
this, and every other dubious matter, to the judgment of thofé
that are better experienced. If I was an admirer of uncertain
reports, and fabulous ftories, I might here add much more: con-
cerning this and other Norvegian Sea-monfters, whofe exiftence I
will not take upon me to deny ; but do not chufe, by a mixture
of uncertain relations, to make fuch accounts appear doubtful, as
I myfelf believe to be true and well attefted. I fhall there-
fore quit the fubje& here, and: leave it to future writers on: this
plan, to complete what I have imperfe@ly tketched. out, by
further experience, which is always the beft inftru@orn: >

CH AP-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 225
rem CH As Bist,
i Containing an account of the Norwegian nation. —
Sect. IL. The ancient inhabitants of Norway, the Celto-Scythians were driven
~ out by, or incorporated with Afers, or Afiatics. Secr. I. Their mixing in
later times with various European nations; their expeditions to other countries,
_ even to America, before it was difcovered by the Spamards. Secv. Ill. Va-
“rious flrange colonies come in, and are received in Norway. Suct. IV. The
- flature, frength, and complexion of the Norwegians. Sect. V. Their genius,
\ and “expertnefs’ in’ various kinds of work, arts, and bodily exercifes:
_ Seev. VI.. Their capacity for literature and improvements of the mind.
Sect. VII. The qualities of their mind, their complaifance, fidelity, and va-
Jour, which makes them quarrelfome of late years; their ambition and

~ hofpitality to frrangers. Secr. VII. Great age that many of them live to.
\ Secr. 1X. Certain difeafes to which they are fubjedt. | J

eel ae Ded Otay a

fA S I have hitherto endeavoured to defcribe the natural ftate Firt inhabi-

~\ of Norway, the climate, the animals, as quadrupedes, ° ca |
birds and fifhes, which are peculiar to it, I fhould now be elad a
to lay down my pen, having in a manner fulfilled my promife ;

hor is it convenient, in my prefent circumftances, to proceed any
further ; for it was my intention at the beginning to ftop here: —

I did not think it neceflary, in a natural hiftory, to treat of the
inhabitants of Norway, their genius, cuftoms, &c. but as thefe
particulars may not be faid to exceed the bounds of a natural hit

tory, and fome readers may be of opinion, that an hiftorian who

would give himfelf the trouble to defcribe inanimate and irra-

tional beings, in any particular country, ought not entirely to

omit the nobleft works of God; I mean the rational inhabitants of

it, their qualities, nature, genius, manners, &c. I thall therefore

give a fhort fketch of thefe, and leave it for others to enlarge on

the fubje&t, and corre& the faults I may commit, However, I

hope I fhall be the more impartial, as I am not a native of Nor-

way myfelf. | | | | sat

_ The origin of the Norwegian nation is a fubje@ that I did not
purpofe to treat of, I hall extraé& what I have to fay on this fub-
je& from Snoro, Sturleren, Thormodus, Torfeus, and Jonas

Ramus, who give as full an account as can be expected in a

Paxrt II. LI] matter

222

Thefe were
banifhed by
Afers or O-
thin’s fol-
lowers.’

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
matter of fuch obfcurity, which is filled, like the hiftories of
other countries, with confufed accounts; and uncertain conjec-
ture; what it amounts to in fhort is this, namely, that the moft
ancient or firft inhabitants of N orway left the country juft before
the birth of Chrift, and incorporated witha fwarm of ‘Afers, of
Afiatics, that came into the north; conducted ' by Othin, who
made himfelf mafter of the farft, or Celto-Seythian inhabitants.
The Laplanders and Finlanders, are doubtlefs, the progeny of
the ancient Norwegians, who then retired: farther north, to that
extenfive chain of mountains called Kolen, and to Lapland or
Finmark, which extend on both fides of thofeé mountains. There
the defcendants of the firft N orwegians {till obferve the manners
and cuftoms of their anceftors; from which they deviate in no-
thing but in fome little cultivation of their lands, and live chiefly
by hunting, and procuring grafs for their rain-deer. Thefe ani-
mals fupply them with food, cloaths, and covering for their huts,
or tents, which they move, according to their liking, from: place
to place. Thus did the ancient Germans live, according to Ta-
citus ; not to mention the patriarchs of old, who thus migrated,
and sates their habitations in the eaftern countries.

The Afers, or Othin’s followers, which moft probably were
driven out of Afia by Pompey the Great, and fpread themfelves
to the north, as far as they found inhabitable countries ;° but ‘did
not envy the ancient inhabitants of Norway their retreat among
the cold mountains of Kolen and Finmark, the eaftern fide of
which was peopled, on the fame motive, by fugitives from Swe-
den and Finland, near the Bothnic bay, who have given the
country and people their name in common, as they had met with
the fame hard fate of being expelled from their country by the
Afers. It is uncertain, however, whether thefe two kinds of fu-
gitives have coalefced into one people ; for to this day there is
a difference in their language, and fome Finlanders {peak Queenkk,
or Quenfk, but what language that is I cannot fay; but if I may
be allowed to conjecture, I fuppofe it to be the language of the
ancient Norwegians, who were united with the Pitlandlers from

the Swedith fide.
2 The’

“NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
The famous diftri& Quananger, in the manor ‘of: Nordland,
or female’ republic to have exifted, and the rock Quinens, or

Quenenfheide; and alfo Quinsfiord Quinens, or Quenens Elv,
and Quendal in Lifterlehn; and likewife Quenfhagen in Laerdal,

are well known. There is a famous diftri@ in Sandhordlehn,.

now a parith, called Queenherret (corruptly Quindherred, from
a groundlefs tradition, that all the men were killed there) which

prelerves, perhaps, the memory of the name which: the ancient

N orwegians, or ‘part of them had bore, like their banifhed:coun-
trymen in’ the mountains of Kolen, who are ftill called Queener,

and the language the Queenifh. If Thore, the father of Nor,

224

Quener, an

"ancient peo-

where the fabulous’Rudbeck fuppofes his Northern Amazonian,

ple.

who is faid to have given our country the name of Norway, as
the Norwegian chronicles tell us, was king of Gothland, Finland,’

and Quenland ; this laft, I think, muft have been Norway, tho’
moft authors think this country is fituated near F indkends or at
* end of the Bothnic bay.

It is very juft with regard to the later Bi dlicidass according an
Arngrimus’s Crymographia, L. 11.;fol. 214. and particularly by

Thorm. Torf’s Hift. Norw. p. 1. Lib. 3. Cap. xxiv. p. 160,

where he fays, ‘‘ Naumudatos Halogia in Norvegia provinciam
verfus orientem excipit Jamtia & illam Helfingia fequitur Quenja-
tum Finnia.’, We fee by this, that the Queners are placed next
to the Helfingers, and Jamters, not far from the borders of Nor-
way. It is not improbable therefore, that thofe ancient Queners
which were expelled by the Afers,-.tranfplanted their name there
with their colony, and much later, namely, in King Hagen Mag-
nufien’s time, by fpreading have ftraggled, again back crofs the

mountains of Kolen, to vifit the land of their anceftors. They

did not come indeed like friends; for the hiftory of the aforefaid
king fays, that Quener, and Kyrialer, perhaps Kareler, made an
incurfion into Nordland, and particularly into Helyeland, perhaps
fpirited up by the tradition of their anceftors being expelled from
that country. If this conjecture (for certainty is not to be ex-
pected in the hiftory of, thofe ancient times) feems as. probable as

any other, it anfwers to the remark made on their name, by

Gerh. Schining, in his treatife lately publifhed, called the Geogra-

phy of ancient Norway; where the word Quenes or Quener, ‘ac-’

! cording

224

\

The ancient
Celtz were
called Kel-
trings.

NATURAL HISTOR Yiof VORWAM%

cording to Se&arip. 29. 1s faid-to: fignify:ai fugitive, ror an’ un-
fettled people.’ ‘However that ingenious author! isnot! :of my,
opinion, by his feeking’ for their ancient habitation: in Biarmeland,,
or the Ruffian province of Samojeden, fuppofing that they retired
towards the Bothnic bay *.)/oBut! the found-of, a dName, 1m) my.
opinion is not fufficient'to eftablifh the truth of hiftery.! (Which.
of thefe conjectures is beft founded, appears from! the Iceland, and.
other monuments colleéted. by the learned Thormodus Torfeus,
who has cleared up this point,» by dhewing, ) that. tho’ the Afers
partly expelled, and partly united to theny the Idigene; .or ancient
inhabitants of the North, who were comprehended: under‘ the ex-
tenfive names of Celtz, Cimbri, and Goths. Thefe reecived the.
language’ and mariners’of the: Afers,: and began ‘to cultivate the
lands,” and >to forfake their anceftors ‘more’ -fiample way of diving!
In the mean time, they were not all willing to fubmit to) this
great reformation and the many new cuftoms introduced, which
the vulgar generally reject without examination in allages.) 5
>There was no other means left for fuch than ‘to look out: for
habitations farther to the*north, ‘towards Finmarken) whither thé
Finlanders had rétired before. Thofe that remained behind, and’
obftinately perfifted in the old cuftoms, and wore the ‘ancient’
drefs, were looked upon as aliens, and calléd Keltrings, ine. the:
defcendants of the Celters, or Celte. This is the derivation of}
that defpicable name given us in the N ova Litterarid Maris Baltici’
et Septentr. ad Ann. MDCXCIX. mens. Jun. in a letter from that
great antiquarian Ottho Sperlingitss, a Norvegian by birth; tothe:
Lubeck colleétors of the faid journal, a'few words from which I)

fhall introduce on the credit of the faid author. \ fu
‘¢ Afa quippe in’ feptentrionem venientes miferam hance vitam
cenfebant, quam Celte priores' incole ducebant veteris fimplicitatis

*. John: Schefferus in his Lapponia, Chap. vie -p. 46. is very uncertain Sof the;
origin of the Fin, and Laplanders, and is of opinion, that they cannot be derived
from the Ruffians, Swedes, or Norvegians; becaufe the ftature of their body is lefs,
neither-are they fo corpulent,' and. their complexion, and hair dark brown, which is,
the reverfe of the other northern people. ~ But this argument feems to mé of no great
weight,. becatife as the children of Adam, we derive our origin from one i country.)
But by. length of time, and difference of climates, are become very unlike one ano-
ther, both in fize and complexion, for the extreme cold in which the F pee segs
live, in the frigid zone, does not only obftruct their’ growth, but ltkewife makés)

-their.complexion dark as well as-hot climates, which M. Buffon demontitrates in his

natural hiftory; T."111. p. 527. and again in fect. 3.

2 MemMores

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
memores; unde non mirum in feptentrione Celticum nomen péni-
tus deletum effe, cum nemo Celtis amplius fimilis effe vellet, fed
omnes, ut Afe, maghificentius vitam inftituere cuperent. Hinc ia
Landnama Saga, libro de origine Hlandorum {eripto, P. 111. c. 10.
p. 102. Varo their fua vel buner, ad menn bugdu ad Afer vero
thar kuammer, i.e. Tam bene veftiti erant ut exiftimarent ho-
mines, Afas illuc adveniffle. “Hinc Afas quoqué vix homines fed
Deos potius credebant effe, atque Othinum fuum inde Helgi As
fangéum Deum et magnum Afam vocarunt, &c.---Talem igitur
faftum cum pre fe facerent Afe et Afiatici in ‘his regionibus, Celtz
ut mendicabula quedam hominum haberi ceeperunt, et ab Afis Kel-
tringer ideo diéti fuerunt; quod vocabulum, apud Danos eft adhuc
in ufu, fic enim mendicos et viliflimos quofque hominum vocare
pergunt. ‘Terminatio fane votis ing, fienificat talem qui a Celtis

prodiit ut Ungling dicitur qui ab Ingo defcendit. Skioldinger, qui .

_ a Skioldo, Lodbrookinger qui a Regnero Ledbrok rege, ita Kel-
tringer illi dici ceeperunt Afis, qui a Geltis non ab Afis exierant, &c.’

Agreeable to this account of the defcendants of the ancient
diftrefled Celte or Kelters, particularly in Denmark, perhaps one
might with as good a foundation, or at leaft with fome probabi-
lity, fuppofe that the Queners driven fo far north, after uniting
with the Bothnie Finlanders, or Fenner (for they are alfo called

225

Fennones et Fannones who had been alfo expelled by the Swedes) Fintanders,
Np eee at tale a d Fin-
gave rife to the nickname Fanteramongft us. ‘This name we Laplanders.

apply to a vagabond, idle fett of people, who ftrolé about the
country, and who live by begging, cheating, and thieving; not
unlike thofe we call Tartars in Derimark, Zieguener in Germany,
Egyptians in Franee, and Gipfies in England. But though I am
willing to give up this fuppofition. relating to the Name; yet I
believe that the ancient inhabitants of Norway, who would not
fubmit to the more polifhed manner of living; the new drefs, and
the cultivation of lands, were banifhed the country... Iam con+
firmed in this by what Mr. Peter Hogftrom, who lived 4 great
while amongft the Fin-Laplanders, informs us.in his defcription
of Lapmark, Chap. it. fect. 3. that the Fin-Laplanders infift

upon it, that their anceftors were proprietors of all Sweden, but

were expelled, and by degrees were confined within very narrow.

limits, juft as the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the
Parr I. ME ni hn moun-

226

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

mountains, and would not fuffer them to.come down. into the
valley. Judges xxxiv.. which the faid writer-admits,of. ' This
author agrees with us in this Hypothefis, namely, that they were
the firft that took poffeflion of thofe parts after the flood *.

We may farther learn from. the Norvegian chronicles, - that
thofe ancient inhabitants which were expelled, had particular
kings, or chiefs who. prefided over them, befides the kings of
Norway to whom they were tributaries; for Mr. Jonas Ramus
in the life of king Hagen the Great, informs us, ‘* that, thofe
of Finmark, had fora long time neglected to pay thofe- taxes
which they ought to have paid to the kings of Norway. On. this -
account, king Hagen fent Giffer Galde, an Icelander, to Fin-

Morten king marken, who executed his commiffion fo well, that Morten, king

of the Finns.

of the Finns went in perfon to king Hagen, who was then at
Nidros, and there paid him the taxes as he was in duty.,bound;
and gave farther affurances of his fidelity and obedience. Hift. of
the kings of Norway, p. 304. yin

ie ak a ap ml 6

The more* modern Norvegians,. like the reft of the northern
nations, were a mixture of the remaining Celto-Scythians, and.
the new race of Afers, or Afiatics, who {pread and ftrengthened
themfelves;. by a more, civilized manner of living, + fometimes
under the government of one, and fometimes of many kings.
Thefe both before and after chriftianity was introduced, but
chiefly in the tenth century, under king Harold Haarfager, who

OF the tank fupprefied all. the petty kings, and confequently, taifed many

migrations of

many Nor-
vegians into
various
countries m
different
parts of
Europe.

malecontents, fent feveral colonies out of the country to: inhabit
Iceland, Greenland, Ferorne, Hetland, and the Orkneys.

* Gerhard Schoning, in the ancient Geography of Norway, fays, Sect. 3. p. 5.
‘¢ That they formerly in the fouthern and weftern parts of our Peninfula, have been
fo numerous, that they fent colonies to the Danifh iflands, and that Feyen took its
name from:them (viz..Finns.) ~The great Hugo Grotius is of this opinion, and that
they muft have been the oldeft, and at firft the only inhabitants of Norway and Swe-
den, and have fince been driven by the anceftors of the prefent inhabitants who came
from Germany, to the moft barren parts of the North, as the ancient Britons were
forced by the Anglo-Saxons to leave England, and retire into Wales.
~-+ See Chap. x. Sect. 1, 2, 3. A fimilitude in the Norwegian Peafants manner of
living, and the Georgians, may perhaps ftrengthen the tradition, that the Afers, or
followers of Othin were Afiatics, and particularly that they were Mountaineers ex-
pelled by Pompey the Great, from Caucafus, and Ararat, betwixt the Euxine, and
the Cafpian-fea.
* Not

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. A245

* Not to mention their many warlike expeditions to Scotland,
England, and Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Sicily, Calabria,
Greece, and the eaft. Of tliefe powerful and fortunate expeditions
‘Thorm. Torfeus gives an account at large. An extraé of the moft .
important of them is to be found in Gefte et Veftigia Danor.
extra Dan. Tom. 1. et 1: In Chrift. Reitzer’s dedication of
Thormodus Torfeus Hift. Rerum Norvegicar. to king Fred. IV.
where he briefly fpeaks thus: ‘ Leges hic quales quantique illi
fuerunt tui majores. Videbis Haraldos, Olafos, Magnos, Suerreres,
Haquinos, et fateberis, illos in fortitudine prudentia fanéitate ne
celeberrimis quidem quos habuit antiquitas regibus ceffiffe. Quid?
quod imperitabant genti ex qua tot fortiflimi viri, tot prodiere
Heroes, digni certe quos ne nefciat unquam orbis quam ingentia
eorum fuerint facta, quaque fudore {uo et fanguine adepti fint
decora, eternus annalium colat honos. Hac enim illa gens, que
olim fimul cum tuis Danis, fub nomine Normannorum, per om=
nem fere, qua claflibus adiri queat, Europam, victricia arma cir-
cumtulit. Hac gens, que toti illi, quod Norvegiam, Britanniamque
et feptentrionalem Americ oram interluit, mari jura pofuit; infu-
las omnes coloniis complens, chriftianamque fimul mox cum novis
his colonis inducens religionem. Hine Rolfus ille Neuftrie do-
mitor, qui non pedibus magis quam victoriis, disjun@tiffimas perva-
gabat terras. Hine Tancredus, cui in privato domo quot filii, tot
fere etiam, inaudito per omnia fecula exemplo, futuri nafcebantur
principes: virtute fola apud exteras nationes que, ad pofteros etiam
tranfmitterent, imperia facturi. Hinc regis Magni Nudipedis filius
Sigurdus, qui-in Hifpania, devictis terra marique Saracenis, ex=
actis Sicilia Mauris, adferta Chriftianis Syria ac Paleftina, Afiam,
Africamque et Europam admirationis fua. fama conjunxit. Hine
denique ut reliquos omnes taceam, magnus ille Anglie rex Wil-
helmus Conqueftor, &c.”

It will not be improper here to give an account of an extraor- The Nore-
dinary fea~expedition of the Norwegians to North-America, tho’ the Wel-In.
but little known. This country is now poffeffed by the French, fore ny

niards.

* In the London Magazine of June 1725, we are informed that the inhabitants
of thefe laft mentioned iflands, which in fact are alienated from Norway, ftill talk
the Norwegian dialect; many of the people, efpecially in the more northern ifles,
fpeak the Norze, or corrupt Danifh, which, in fome places, is the: firft language
their children learn,

and

228

Arngrim. Jo-
na’s account
of it.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORBWIY

and is very advantageous to them, becaufe of their oreat fitheries
there, to the lofs of the N orwegians. This country, by the right
of prior pofleffion, might have, ex jure primi occupantis, full.
belonged to the latter, if their anceftors had exercifed more lenity
towards the natives: and it is not improbable that fome of the
defcendants of the Norwegian colony, are to -be found there at
this day. . wo denhesnret Tt
Upon inquiry, it feems plain to me (tho’ it might appear
improbable at farft view) that the Norwegians had failed to Ame-
Tica, many centuries before the Spaniards, and thatothis voyage
was performed by thofe Norwegians who were fettled in Iceland
and Greenland. It may, in fome meafure; fatisty the curiofity of
thofe that have been long enquiring into the poflibility and-man-
ner of peopling that part of the world, by the defcendants of
Noah *, to {hew how practicable it was for thefe northern nations)
This may be feen by the following account, of the N orwegians
failing to the fouth-weft from Greenland to Vinland, which could
have been no other than America. I hall here’ infert the words
of that ingenious Icclander Arngrimius Jona, in his hiftory of
Greenland, chap. rx and x. from page 43 to 52, « Herjolf an
Icelander. and his fon Biorn, ufed annually to travel from place
to place, trading with various forts: of. merchandize. But while
Herjolf was once in Norway, he formed a {cheme of going to
live in Greenland, which he accordingly put in execution, and
fettled at Herjolinzs, which lies on the eaft-fide of that country.
When Biron returned to Norway, and heard that his father was
gone to Greenland, he would not fo much as caft anchor there,
but rather chofe to go in queft of his father in the ftrange and
remote parts of Greenland. Though he had nobody on board.
that knew any thing of the courfe they were to fteer, nor had
ever been that voyage himfelf, he fet fail without compals or
pilot, which appears plainly by this hiftory. It is faid that he
judged of the points of the compafs by the courfe of the fun, and
* The -poflibility of ‘this difputed point might be proved, by fuppofing that the

~ American continent was anciently joined to Europe and Africa; for Plato relates

ca aay é os | S
in his Timzeus, that the Egyptian priefts told Solon, the Athenian lawgiver, wh
hecigss mPa 600 years before Chrift, that in old time, beyond the Straits of Gi-
bralter, there was a very extenfive country called Atlantis, larger than all Europe
and Africa, which was fwallowed up by a great earthquake, and. only left its name
to the Atlantic ocean. , 7

I | | oe | by

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

by what he had heard of the country, he gueffed at what point
it lay; So bold and adventrous were the ancients. The firft three
days he was at fea, he fteered his courfe weftward, then the
wind chopt about to the north, and as they did not know their
courfe, they were driven to the fouthward. When the north-wind
had done blowing, and they had failed about twenty-four hours,
they faw land at a diftance. When they approached nearer to the
- coaft, they found it a flat and level country, free from rocks,
and very woody. They landed there, and then put to fea again,
and failed from thence to the north-weft, and before they made
Greenland, they faw two iflands, which they pafied in their
courfe. The following fummer, in the year of Chrift 1002,
Biorn failed to Norway, and informed Erich Jarl, who then
reigned there, that he had feen two unknown iflands in his voyage,

but had not landed upon them. This did not pleafe the king,

who blamed Biorn becaufe he could give no better account of .

thofe iflands which he had feen. Upon this he failed from Nor-
way to Greenland a fecond time. ’

Leif, fon of Erich Rode, was refolved to tread in his father’s
fteps, who firft. difcovered Greenland, and therefore did not let
thofe iflands mentioned above, remain long unknown. He ac-
cordingly determined to fet fail in a ftout fhip with thirty-five
men, under his father’s direétion, who was then an old man. But
as Erich Rode was riding with his fon, in order to embark, his
horfe fell with him, which he looked upon as an ill omen, and
therefore turned back and went home; however, Leif purfued

his voyage. The firft land that he difcovered was the laft that.

Biron had feen, and the neareft to Greenland; here he caft an-
chor, and went afhore, and found nothing but flat ftones and ice
in the country, but no grafs or herbage; from thefe ftones he
gave it the name of Helleland. He afterwards failed from thence
and difcovered the other ifland that Biron had feen. This was an
even level country, without any rocks, and very woody; the fand
on the coaft was remarkably white. Leif gave this country the name
of Marckland. ‘Vhey failed from thence and fteered their courfe
to the fouth-weft, with a north-eaft wind, and difcovered a third
country in forty-eight hours, which they thought preferable to
the others. Near the north part of this country, they found a
{mall ifland, where they landed ; from thence they failed weft-

Part II. Wn on 4 | ward,

229

230

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

ward, round a point of land into a fmall harbour, and run the
{hip into a creek. ay Soh The! of
_ This country appeared to them to be very agreeable and fer~
tile, which induced them to winter there. Befides all other kind
of fifh which the fea and frefh-waters afforded in great plenty,
they found there a very large kind of falmon. — The winter was’
not fevere, nor was there fo much froft and fnow as in Iceland
or Greenland, and they could fee the fun full fix hours in the’
fhorteft day. They likewife found both vines and grapes, which
the Greenlanders had never feen before ; but they had a German
with them, who was no ftranger to that fort of fruit, and faid
he was born in a country where great quantities of vines grew.
Leif ftayed there all the winter, and réturned to Greenland in
the {pring, giving this country the name of Viinland *, |
Leif found thefe countries, viz. Helleland, Markland, and
Vinland, uninhabited at his arrival ; but this is denied by the
next adventurers who failed to the fame countries, Thorvald,
Leif’s brother, was the next that made a voyage to Viinland, with
thirty men, and wintered where his brother Leif had been before,
and lived in the fame huts that he had built when he wintered
‘there. During the winter Thorval reconnoitred the weftern part
‘of the country, and in the fummer following he took a furvey of,
the eaftern part. The third fummer he viewed all the iflands to
the weftward, which were uninhabited. His fhip was damaged;
‘by running ‘a-ground on a large promontory, fo that he was
obliged to repair it there. He found that the keel had tecéived
fome damage, and turned his veffel bottom upwards, at the extre-
mity of that promontory, which they therefore called Kizlarnes,
in Danifh Kiolnzs. In fearching the eaftern ~ parts, they‘ gave
names to many places, rivers, &c. One place they called Krof-
fanas, or Kaarfnas, which fhall be taken notice of hereafter.
Not far from thence*they difcovered three finall boats, which
they ‘called Hudkeiper; there were three men in each boat ; of
thefe every third man was afleep. ‘Their manner of building
# That ancient writer, _Adamus Bremenlis, takes notice of the voyage to Viinland
in the following words, which he heard king Swend Eftridféns rélate by word of mouth:

“© Preeterea unanr adhuc linfulam recitavit, a? miultis repertam in illo‘oceano, quae
dicitur Winland, eo quod ibi vites {ponte na{cuntur, vinum optimum ferentes ; nany
& fruges ibi-non feminatas abundare non fabulofa opinione, fed certa Danorum com-
perimus narratione,” Adam. Bremenf. lib. de fitu Danize, p. 36, edit. Elzevir.’

aktels .

< 4

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
veflels in thofe ancient times is entirely unknown at prefent ; they
were madé of tkins and ribs, or bones, which they tied together
with twigs. © Thefe kind of boats they called Hudkeipa. They
killed eight of thefe men, but the ninth efcaped. Soon after they
found prodigious numbers of the inhabitants coming towards
them, who with their bows and arrows fhot at the Greenlanders.
By this Thorvald was convinced that this was not a barren un-
peopled country. ‘Thefe people were formerly called Skrelinger.
Myritius, who calls them pygmzos bicubitales, fays, that they
are afew weak, defpicable wretches, that have no ftreneth or
courage. He alfo calls them Skrelingers ; ‘and adds, that they

_ live to the weft of Greenland ; ‘that if they were ever {0 many in

number there is not much to be feared from them. ‘However,
we find that in the year 1379, a’party of the Skralingers made
an excurfion into Greenland, and “murdered eighteen of the
Chriftian natives of that country.
But to return to our hiftory of Thorvald ; whilft this multi-

tude of Skralingers difcharged fhowers of arrows into the vetlel, -

-. theGreenlanders: defended themfelves wath ‘boards, ‘with ‘which

they covered the’ veffel,' faftening them tovether ‘with twigs, fo

that hardly any of the crew were wounded. “Ina very fhort time

the Skrelingers began tobe in want of arrows, and then retired
all together, -without'doing:any farther damage. |

_. Thorvald-was the only: perfon who fuffered in this attack, for

he received a wound inthe cheek, of which he ‘died, ‘He ‘was’

_ buried on a point ‘of land, where, by his'-defire, - they erected
two crofles, »one-at his head the other at his feet, and from that,
this: point wasicalled Kroffanzs, or Kaarfnes,) > - agro!
~'Thorvald feemed:to know fomething of his “approachihg end :
_ for: he was very’fond of that point’ of land, and faid that he de-
figned to remaim there. They-ftaid the remaining ‘part of the winter
on: Viinland:; inthe {pring they loadéd their fhip twith vines, and
the; boat withograpesy and: failed*back:to Greénland ‘in good con-

dition, The third:fon of Erich ‘Rodes, and brother to Leif and

_Thorvald, whofe name was -Thorften, failed from Greenland
with | his wifeiand. children, vand all ‘his family, in all twenty-five
perfons, with ‘an intent to:fétch his brothér’s corpfe, in ‘order to
interr it in his native country. But meéeting with contrary winds,

oa TY '3 he

23%

232

NAFURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

he was driven back again to Greenland, toa place called Lyfeftord,
it being very late in the autumn, where he,. as well as moft of
his people, died of the plague. During the winter their bodies
were put into chefts and preferved, and in the {pring they were all
carried to Erichsfiord, and decently interred.

Thorften’s wife, whofe name was Gudrid, furvived him, and
afterwards married an Icelander, who was called Thorfin Karlfefne,
and was but lately come to Greenland from Norway. This Thor-
fin was perfuaded by his wife and others to go to Viinland. Ac-
cordingly he fet fail with fixty men, befides his wife and. five
other women. He alfo took with him as many heads of cattle as
he could ftow in the fhip, and had the liberty of living in Lief’s
houfe, for it was not given him. He arrived fafe at Viinland,
where there was no {cargity of any thing neceflary to fupport life ;
for befides plenty of fifth, and the fruits of the earth, they found
a large whale driven upon the fhore, of the fort which they call
reid-whale ; of this kind fome have been found near two hundred
feet long, and their fleth taftes very much like beef. —Befides all
this, it wasa pleafant fertile country, and afforded plenty of grafs;
fo that a bull they had brought with them grew fo wild and
untra@able with high keeping, that they could not manage him.

In this manner they lived by themfelves till Chriftmas, when
the Skrzlingers approached them: in great numbers: with their
commodities, which confifted of hides, fkins, and furs ; but when

they {aw the bull, and heard him make fuch a terrible bellow- _

ing, they were fo terrified that they fled with great precipitation

to their houfes, and in their hurry to get in, broke open fome of
the doors. The Greenlanders did not underftand their language,
nor they the Greenlanders ; but, by figns and motions, they under-
ftood that the Skrelingers were. come to trade with them, and
chofe to have iron. and arms in exchange for their furrs. “Thorfin
forbade all his people to fell'them i iron, but gave them milk and
other food, which. the Skr ‘elingets: feerned very fond of, and pre-
fented him. with feveral valoalie: ties in return. for their sem

| cheer.

~ When they were gone, ies ie bit ‘Handi his houfe
all round with thick planks. | All-this happened dung the firft
year of their vefidence in that country. .

3 : The

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

The following fummer the Skrelingers came again to Thorfin
in Vinland, and one of them’was killed for attempting to fteal
an ax from the Greenlanders. Upon this the reft went away,
without.reaping any great advantage from their furrs, or other
commodities. ; | |

_ The third fummer they came again without any goods, and.
prepared for war, but had no fuccefs, having loft a great many
of their men. There was one inftance happened, which difco-
vers thofe people to be very ignorant and ftupid; one of them
laid hold of an ax which the Greenlanders had carelefly dropped,
and being defirous to know the ufe of it, by trying an experi-
ment, ftruck one of his companions on the head with it, with
all his might. This being obferved by one of their company,
who feemed to be fuperior to the reft, and was probably their
chief, he took the ax and examined it ; then he went down to
the water-fide, and threw it as far as he could into the fea. By
this we may judge, that they do not know how to ufe any other
inftrument but their arrows. =~ |

At the expiration of three years Thorfin left Vinland, in order
to vifit his mother-country, and carried many valuable things
with him. After this expedition feveral adventurers, both from
Iceland, and Greenland, took a fancy to go to Vinland. Two
men who were called Helge, and Fimboy, failed firft eaftward
from Iceland to Norway, and from thence to Greenland, where a
woman, whofe name was Freidis, perfuaded them to go to Vin-

land. ‘They accordingly failed thither in two of their own fhips, -

with fixty men, and the aforefaid Freidis, who was fifter to Leif,

and had lived in his houfe whilft he was in Vinland. But when —

they had been there but a fhort time, thirty of them were de-
ftroyed by the deceit and perfidy of that wicked woman. And
tho’ fhe was daughter to Erich Rode, and Leif’s fifter, the was
fill far from refembling them in their virtues; for fhe was envious,
proud, and the moft abandoned of her fex: |
The above-mentioned Thorfin, went from Greenland to N. or-
way, and was held in great efteem and re{fpe& for his Vinland-
expedition; and when he was going to depart for Iceland, and
jult ready to fail, he met with a foreigner from Bremen, who
~ defired him to fell him a piece of timber that he had in his pof-
Paxr Il, Ooo feffion,

233

234 NATURAL HISTOR ¥ of NORWAY.

feffion, to putstip»in his. houfe as an ornament:.,Bat: Thorfin
would not unlefs he would pay him its weight ia gold: upon
thefe conditions he fold it him at Jaft,.. It feems the wood was
called maufur (makholder baum, or Rufcus meufdom, mufe-tree)
and had been brought from Vinland. Hicronymous Tragus, fays,
that no rats, mice, ‘or bats, will:come near this. wood.” So far
Arngrimus Jona, « | 7 | |

As I have faid before, it is not in the leaft an improbable fup-
pofition, that the defcendants of a Norwegian colony fhould ftll
be found in the faid country; and I ground my hypothefis upon
what that eminent jefuit, Pere Charlevoix, very plainly intimates

A Norwegian 11 his travels in America; he tells us, that he found on the ifland

colby Of Newfoundland, a people with beards, complexion, and every

en ee ® mark of a different nation from the reft of the inhabitants called
Efquimaux (a name, without doubt, which the French have
given them) which he reckons is an European colony; his words
are thefe, ‘* Les Efquimaux refemblent autant aux Patagons, que
le pays qu’ils habitent reflemble aux cotesdu detroit de Magellan.
C’eft un peuple feroce qui mange la chair toute crue des animaux.
Leurs yeux font petits, leurs cheveux blonds, leur peau eft affez
blanche, et ils ont de Ja barbe. Toutes ces marques les diftin-
guent de tous leurs Voifins, et pourroient faire croire, qu’ils font
une colonie d’Européens, qui ont degeneré par la mifere et par le
manque dinftruction. Hit. et defcription generale de la Nou-
velle France, Sree i /

It is a pity, that the good father Charlevoix had not fo much
knowlege of the Norvegian language, as to have been able to ex-
amine whether his fuppoiition were true. Iam apt to conclude,
that he would have found them to be defcendants of the Norve-
gians, who, by length. of time, and long abfence from their coun- -
try; or want of fhips, or elfe by their own choice, had remained
there, and forgot their native land, yet {till retaining the ancient
Norvegian diale@, fuch as the Icelanders now fpeak. It is not
probable, that he would -have found any figns of chriftianity
among them, for their departure. happened much about the time
that chriftianity was introduced into. Norway, which occafioned
many colonies leaving the country, exclufive of thole that did it

for reafons of ftate. Others left their native land out of detefta-
7 tion

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
tion to the cruelties which king Olaus Trygonis exercifed upon
his fubjects, who, according to the cuftom of thofe times, and
the principles of the popith {pirit, endeavoured to propagate the
chriftian religion, or rather a mere hypocritical profeftion of it,
by force.

Since I wrote the aw account, I happened to sa my eyes
upon a book, entitled, A Géneral Account of the Continent of
America, and its Inhabitants. Publifhed this year, with a preface
by Dod. Siegen, Jac. Baumgartens.. ‘This work: treats more
largely of the people I have mentioned above, their difference
from the other Americans, ‘and their foreign original in P. I. C.
I. p. 27. and feq. fea. 13. in thefe words; ‘“ The nation of the
Efkimaux, which inhabit the country from 52 to 60 degrees of
north-latitude, between Hudfon’s bay and the ftrait of Belleifle,
feparating the continent of Labrador ‘from Newfoundland, have
fuch peculiar cuftoms, ‘agreeing fo little with thofe of the other
Indian nations of America, nay their form is fo different from
the reft of the inhabitants of this part-of the world, that T believe
we fhould not err, if we were to derive them from a quite diffe-
rent origin. ‘They are tall and better made than the other In-
dians ; they have curled hair, which they clip off at their ears,
and let their beards grow.

Their hair is generally bible though fome of them: have
light coloured, and others have red hair, like the inhabitants of
the northern parts of Europe.

The name Efkimaux feems to be derived from the word efki-
manfic, which in the language of the Abenaques, implies men

who eat flefhraw. For as the inhabitants of this country live -

by hunting and fifhing, they eat the game they kill, and the
fifth they catch, raw and bloody, without any preparation. The
neighbouring Indians give them another name, which fignifies
fugitives or run-aways, not becaufe they are cowards, but on
account of their brifk, active, turbulent, difpofitions.

They live in a conftant diftruft of their neighbours, and are
continually upon their guard againft any incroachment, avoiding
as much as poflible all commerce with other nations. Some
affirm, that this nation proceeds from fome Bifcaians who were
fhipwreck’d with feveral veflels in thefe parts; if this be true,

is | they

235

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA4Y

they are confequently, derived from that very European: people
they had afterwards fo great caufe to complain of, Neverthelefs,
if we may judge by their manners and cuftoms, I am convinced
that their origin is of a much more ancient date. I rather think,
that they came fome ages fince from the Britifh and Orkney
iflands. ; | i

If there were not ftill fome remains of idolatry and fuperftition,
without the leaft fign of chriftianity amongft them, we might
perhaps aver, that they are defcended from thofe Cambri, which

- forfook Wales, to difcover new countries in the weft; about the

end of the twelfth century, under the command of Madoc their
prince, a fon of Owen Guynedd, mentioned by David Powel, in
his hiftory of the Cambri; if this voyage of Madoc be not fabu-
lous.” So far the anonimous author of the hiftory of the country
and inhabitants in America. His hypothefis, that the faid Efki-=
maux are derived from Europeans who came there fome ages
ago, I think we cannot but believe to be true. To make Bifcay—
ans, or Britons of them, who have been converted to chriftianity
fo long, of which there muft without doubt have remained fome
footfteps, does not at all agree with fa&s. _ Upon the whole, all
hypothefes on this fubjeét are at an end when we read fome of.
our good Norvegian authors, efpecially Arngrimus Jona quoted
above. | | ;
Many confiderable colonies have gone away at the latter end.
of the fourteenth century from hence, as well as from other
countries, and a great many were carried off by an epidemical
diftemper that raged at that time, which the Norvegians called
forte dod, or black death. By this means the country has been
greatly weakened and ftrip’t of its inhabitants in many places.
However, later times have recovered this lofs, fo that the ‘old
habitations are again occupied, and new ones added to them.
Hence we may fee the benefits of peace, and what advantages it
brings to a country. ‘That it conduces to the increafe of the in-
habitants, may be concluded by examining thefe laft thirty years
peace; for the increafe of people is fo obvious in this diocefe, and
in all probability in other places, that moft of the farm-houfes
which formerly had but one family, now have two, three, or four.
To this we may add the great numbers of young feafaring men,
I who,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
who, by permiffion, and with proper pafles, and a great many with-
out pafles, go every year to Holland and other countries to ferve
as failors, and when thefe are compleat feamen, they are preferred

to all other; all thefe together make a much greater number
than one would imagine. |

BPE ay bay Ein
~ On the contrary, there are many foreigners who come into
Norway, and fometimes {ettle there, particularly Danifh, Englifh,
Scotch, Dutch, and Germans. The firft of thefe, who are uni-
verfally called, both here and in Sweden, Jyder, have frequent

opportunities to come here, fome to be put in places and em-

ployments under the government, others are drawn hither by
mercantile affairs, efpecially fince the union of Calmar, which
_has incorporated thefe two nations into one, profeffing the fame

religion, fubjeét to the fame government, and {peaking the fame

language*. Since that time they may be looked upon as one
people, according to the account Virgil gives of Aneas’s uniting
the Aufonians and Trojans in one nation: |
| Sermonem Aufonii Patrium morefque tenebunt,
Utque eft nomen erit, commixti corpore tantum
Subfident Teucri, morem ritufque facrorum
Adjiciam, faciamque omnes uno. ore Latinos.
_ Hinc genus Aufonio miftum, quod fanguine furget,
Supra homines, fupra ire Deos pietate videbis.

Upon what terms thefe two nations, equally great and free,
have been united, may be feen amongft other curious pieces in
Arild. Huitfeld’s colleétion, Tom. II. p. 1316, where there is in-
ferted an old letter, fub{cribed by two fenators, at a diet held in
Bergen, anno 1450, in which are thefe words: “ Both king-
doms, Denmark and Norway, {hall henceforth be united in bro-
therly love, in trade and friendfhip ; and neither of them. fhall
be fubje@ to the other; each kingdom fhall be governed by its
own natives, &c.” The Norwegian nation is as much beloved in

* T mean by the fame diale& the language of the Afers, which the three northern
kingdoms, and part of Germany, had in common; but) by degrees varied, fo that
they could not underftand each other, as is the cafe of the Icelanders now, whom we
cannot converfe with: and there is {till here many hundred words) ufed: by the com:
mon people, that we do not underftand, of which there is a proof in the Gloflarium
Norvagicum. Since the union of Norway and Denmark, the laws concerning di-
vine feryice, have produced a greater change in the language, A

Part Il. Ppp na, Lo bes Bent

”

37

Colonies of
flrangers in
Norway:

238

The Englih,

The Scotch.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
Denniark, as the Danith is in N orway, and both are regatded
with the fame affe@ion and favour by all our monarchs, parti-
cularly thofe who have reigned fince the fovereignty has been free,
and had an opportunity to difcover their impartiality, and natural
difpofition, whatever the envious Conringius or others might have
infinuated to the contrary. This is demonftrated in a treatife by

the worthy Dr. C. L. Scheid, which may be feen in the Tranf-

actions of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen, Tom. IL.
N° x. p. 317. edit. Lat. inferibed, Chrift. Lud. Scheidii Diff.
de Pervetufta et illibata Norvegiz libertate, qua cum ante, tum
poft unionem Calmarienfem, gavifa eft, cui accedit demonftratio
quod regnum hoc neutiquam Danie, provincie inftar, fubjeGum
et confociatum fit. Ex principiis juris publici univerfalis,
Concerning the obligations of both nations to brotherly love
and unity, Chriftian Reitzer, in his dedication of Thorm, Tor-'
feus’s hiftory of Norway, to king Frid. IV. writes thus: “ In hoc
mutuo noftro amore, in hac, qua per tot fecula cohzefimus, admi-
randa plane concordia, nil poteris illis conferre, ut non-et nos ob-
liges. Illi noftri funt fratres, illi focii foedere eterno Danie yuna.
Illis idem, qui nobis, funt mores; eadem lingua, eadem religio.
Eodem gloriamur rege. Praftitum nobis eft, quicquid preftitifti
illis,”” &c. |
‘¢ When king Oluf Kyrre, towards the end of the eleventh
century, founded the city of Bergen, and was particularly intent
upon extending the trade and commerce of Norway, he granted
the Enelifh very great privileges, and gave them a convenient
place to build upon.” ae |
Thefe privileges their defcendants enjoyed near 300 years, till
the year 1312, when they fell upon kine Hagen’s people, upon
which they were transferred to the Germans who came in their
room, and carried on a confiderable trade there. However, fome
of the Englifh remained in feveral of the fea-ports, and there, as
it is reported by a continued tradition, built the firft churches,
and were the ‘apoftles or firft inftruétors of the N orwegians in the
Chriftian faith. ‘The fame may be faid of their neighbours the Scots,
who have vifited thefe. parts rather oftner than the Englifh, being
fituated nearer to the Norwegian-coaft. A great number of them
have fettled here, efpecially.in Hordeland, which, is now called
North and South-Hordlehn. “Thofe peafants about Bergen, dif
2 5 | tinouifhed

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
tinguifhed by a particular drefs, and by way of diftinction called
Strile-farmers, are thought to be of Scotch extraction, and a great
many Scotch and Englifh, families employed in the mercantile way,
are fettled here at Bergen. Thefe are full diftinguifhed by their
names; and a diftri@ in Rye-Kirkens-Sogn, called Skotte-Byen, or
Scotch-town, isa farther proof of this. There are likewife in Foffen,
now called Chriftianfand, which has the privileges of a trading-
city, a great many Englifh and Scotch families fettled, who carry

on a great trade. I obferved above, that the Germans, about the |

beginning of the fourteenth century, fucceeded the Englifh in
their trade, privileges, and advantages. Thefe they enjoyed as long
as the Hanfe-treaty was in force, and Bergen was one of the
principal towns of this aflociation. Thefe Germans piqued them-
felves upon the privileges that were granted them, and behaved
with a great deal of infolence, making a bad ufe of them by en-
croaching upon the inhabitants, particularly by joining with the
mechanics of their country. By this means they became very nu-
merous, and conftituted. a formidable body of feveral thoufands,
till king Frid. II. deputed Mr. Chriftopher Walkendorf to chaftife
them, who immediately damped their courage, and’ fet ‘em
their proper bounds.

At this prefent time the Germans have but little thare of the
trade of the country, and are but few in proportion to their pre~
deceffors; for'tho’ the Nordland-company have as great trade as
ever, yet out of fifty-eight houfes which were formerly inhabited
by German families, who belonged to that company, there are
now but four in their poffeflion; all the reft are bought» up
by the natives, who, partly in the company’s compting-houfes,
and partly at their own houfes, carry on the trade, which for-
merly enriched a great many foreigners.

a It fhewed.a‘great want of judgment and policy in thofe times,
to permit foreigners thus. to engrofs the whole trade of the coun-
try *, Even at prefent there’ arefin th this city betwixt: four and five

mh? hun-

<
“ee i>

* ] have obferved, that fome of our own as well as foreign authors, have con-
ceived a very wrong -idea of this German-company, which they have conveyed fo
others, by reprefenting it in a declining condition, or almoft bankrupt; but the
truth is quite the reverfe, in ‘regard to the trade of the company : Their houfes,
ftock, fervants, and the paper of traders, are the fame as'heretofore. As for ine
fitheries, God be praifed, they are more flourifhing than ever. That at Sundmoerike
is as large again as it was formerly: but it may be faid very juftly, that its depen-
dance upon the German Imperial cities, fuch as Bremen, Hamburg, Lubeck, Roftoc,
cre ae] e, As

239

240. NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
‘hundred merchants families, above half of which are Germans or
Dutch; but have been naturalized long fince. There is another
German ‘colony in one of our towns up:in the mountains, called
Kongfberg, where they have divine fervice performed in their
own language, as it is at the company’s houfe at Bergen. There is
{till a more ancient colony of this nation, which came here in the
reign of Chriftian II. the fate of which I have related above in
my defcription of the filver-mines in Norway, fee Part 1. p. 183."
Tartar. f, Ramus gives us a fhort account of a Tartarian colony ‘that.
ed irom their own country and fettled here, in the reign of kine
fled from th try and fettled here, in the reig f king
Hagen Hagenfen, which he relates in the following words, in
page 231: ‘In Senniens Lehn, there is a place called Malanger-
ford, which in the reign of king Hagen Hagenfen, Was given to —
a certain people to fettle in, who had fled from Tartary to Bi-
armeland, and from thence came to Norway. King Hagen caufed
them all to be baptized, and gave them leave to fettle in Ma-
langerfiord,”’ &c. | it; | }
iy STR MGh Teal. 3
I thall now proceed to the chief point I had in’ view in this
chapter, namely, to give an exact defcription of the Norwegians, —
their genius, manner and qualities, both of body and mind. Tho’
the outward afpect is feldom regarded as the principal endow-
ment in any civilized nation, yet as it firft ftrikes the eye, I-thall
begin with obferving, that the Norvegians are in general of a good
appearance, tall, well made, and lively. There are fome who
pretend that there is a difference in the inhabitants of N orway
according to their fituation; and obferve;that the. peafants who
live among the mountains, are generally taller than the reft, and
have a certain feverity in their countenance which: commands| re- -
is declining, and grows every day lefs and lefs. In fad, they have but a fmall por
tion left, “iiate the. warehoufe-trade, &c. has been by degrees bought up by the na-
tives, to whom it belongs by. natural right. ‘This company poficiies the beft part of
the city of Bergen. ‘Their ground extends all along the-weft-fide of the haven, and
is in length 340 paces, and 120 in Breadth, containing thirty large houfes, the
fronts of which look towards Garpe-Bridge, or the German-Bridge, and form a
ftreet. In the fame row are the compting-houfes, oppofite to thefe is the place where
the fifh-dealers are always at work. They are continually bufied in packing, load~
ine, unloading, &c. efpecially in May and Augutt,. when the Nordland vefiels .
come in by hundreds ata time, befides a great many foreign ‘Ships. Each compt-
‘ing-houfe has feparate apartments, and are properly factories, having their feparate
oeconomy conduéted by a mafter who has his clerks and fervants, that are moitly
Germans, but in the fervice of the Norwegians. No women are fuffered to ‘be in
the compting-houfes, according to ancient cuftom, by which they are all regulated
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NATURAL HISTORY of VORIVAT. i

{pect and feems expreflive of the ftrength of their intellectual
faculties. Along the coaft the people, for the generality, are not
fo tall aiid robuft, but on the contrary miore corpulent and phleg-
‘matic, and have a rounder vilage. This difference is obferved by the
officers in the militia, according to the feveral. diftrits of which
their men are natives, and when they draw up. their regiments,
confifting of both forts; they can pretty well ouefs to which clafs
‘each belongs *. | | eR |
That the firft inhabitants of Norway had fome of the giant- .
kind amonegft them, is aflerted by Thormod. Torfsus, who is
‘not very credulous in other refpeéts, in his Hift. Norv. p.i. 1. iii. Sok 5
cap. 3 & 4. p. 147. His words are, ‘* Edda nihil operofius s#**in¢
-tradit, quam que Afis tranfmigrantibus cum gigantibus iftis inter-
cefferunt. Sed & hiftoria.Hervoriava, cap. 1. conceptis verbis
opponit ifterum gigantum nomina, qui inter primos feptentrio-
nem incoluerant---Primos Daniz incolas Saxo Grammaticus gigan-
tes, gigantes Arngrimus primos Norvegi# agnofcit: illos autem
potteros fuifle & reliquias Cananeorum agro Paleftino, a Jofua
& Calebo, divinis aufpiciis in Palaftinam moventibus, expulforum,
‘circa annum mundi 2506. Hancqueé orbis plagam, ad ea ufque
tempora, aut forfitan diutius, prorfusincultam manfifle exiftimat,
Genebrandi authoritatem allegans ... cui licét Pontano vel maxime
repugnante, Hift. Dan. p. 55. fuffragatur Rabbi David Kimki ad
finem Abdi, qui Cananzos ex agro Paleftino ab Hebreis ejectos,
in Illyricum & Panoniam migrafle tradit, citante Bodino. Meth.
Hiftor. cap. iv. Accedit Mefienius, qui tomo I. Scandia illuft. a
Jofua Paleftina ejectos Scandiam intrafle- exiftimat . .. Celeberri-
mus antiquitat. feptentrionalium profeffor, Olaus Verelius, folos
gigantes hune traétum quondam incoluiffe, creditu arduum yudi-
cat, adjecta ratione his verbis ; not. ad cap. I. hiftor. Hervorianz,
p: 11. Neque enim, inquit, ¢ terra hic potius quam alibi prog
aati funt, fi vero aliunde advenerunt, aliorum injuriis hic pulft
dicentur & ,... vero, proinde fimilius eft, gigantes hic quondam
* Lair & la terre influe beaucoup fur Ia forme des hommes, ‘des animaux, des
plantes : Qu’on examine dans le méme canton, les hommes, qui habitent les terres
elevées, comimes les cotaux, ou le deffus des collines, & qu’on les compare avec ceux
qui occupent le milieu des vallées voifines, on trouvera que les premiers font agiles,
difpos, bienfaits, fpirituels, 8& que les femmes y font communement jolies ; au lieu
que dans le plat pays, oti la terre eft groffe, V’air épais, & Peau moins pure, les pay-

fans font groffiers, péfans, malfaits, ftupides, & les payfannes toutes laides. Buffon
hift. naturelle, tom, iii. p. 203. — |

Part TI, Qq q 7 ) , faite,

~

242

Strength and
hardinefs.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWHY

fuifie, at non ita magno numero, ut foli illi terram) occupave-

rint.” :
If all this be probable, which, however, I leave to the reader’s

own judgment, then we may fuppofe that there has been fuch a _

thing as.a flow and gradual decline in the fize of the human race

amongft us *, Some of our later hiftorians give us. inftances of

heroes of uncommon {fize, ftrength, and courage, in N orways
particularly the renowned Harald Haarderaade, who diftinouifhed
himfelf in Greece, and is faid to have been ten feet high, To
this we may add feveral human Skeletons, that have been dug

‘up-in the mountains of an uncommon fize, but as I have never

feen any of them, I cannot vouch for the truth of the accounts
concerning them. Not to mention Starkadi’s tooth, which accord-
ing to Thorm. Torfaus’s account, p.. i. 1. 10. c. 28. p. asa, is
{aid to have been ufed for a bell-clapper ; and Figel Skallegrimi’s
fkull, which the fame author, p. ii L. 5. c. 6. p. 213, fays, was
fhewed in Iceland as a prodigy, both on account of the largenefs
and weight. It was faid to be fo hard and thick, that it could
not be chopp’d through with an ax. And not long ago, Mr. And.
Wefiel, at Biornoer in the diocefe of Tronheim, opened one of
thofe ancient tumuli called giant-graves, and found there a human
back-bone of a prodigious fize. All thefe accounts I thall leave
to reft on the credit of the relators.. But waving thefe ftories, it
is certain the N orvegians are a very ftrong, robuft, and hardy
people, and, in fome meafure, differ according to the fituation
they live in, About the rocks and cliffs, and in moft parts of
Norway, efpecially on the mountains, the air they breathe is
frefh, clear, and wholefom ; their plain and homely diet, their
continual labour, which they are obliged to undergo both. by
fea and land, and their cheerful difpofition, which is natural
to moft of the Norwegians, give them a conftant feries of health ;
fo that, I believe, a greater number of them, than of any other
nation, exceed the age of a hundred years. But. of this I thall
take notice hereafter. They are inured to cold and hardfhips
from their childhood ; for, in the latter end of November, they
will run about bare-footed even upon the ice. The mountaineers,

* Commifti noftri generis hominibus hybridas procrearunt, femigigantes veré vo-
catos. Hiin mores & manfuetudinem humanam, feritate paulatim mitefcente &
proceffu temporis evanefcente, tranfierunt. Thorm, Torf. Hift. Norv. p. i. |. iii.
C..25)p. ELS, = |

i who

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
who daily go in the woods, have their beards often full of
ificles, and their bofom filled with fhow : and when their naked
breafts are occafionally expofed, they feem to be as hairy as their
chins. On my travels over the higheft mountains of Norway,
which are covered with fnow, where horfes are of no fervice, I
have feen the peafants, in great numbers, do the work of horfes,
and indeed they feem almoft to equal thofe animals in ftrength.
[ have obferved, :that when they have been in a profufe fweat,
they have thrown themfelves every half hour upon the fnow, to
cool and refrefh themfelves, and have even fucked it to quench
their thirft. All this they undergo without the leaft apprehen-
fions of a cold or fever, and without murmuring, or betraying
any difcontent. On the contrary, they go on finging merrily all
the while, and hold out for nine hours together at the hardeft
labour imaginable, with incredible cheerfulnefs and alacrity. What
firong conftitutions are the fifhermen and f{ea-faring people in this
country endowed with, by that wife and gracious being who giveth
to every one what their refpective wants require !. A remarkable
inftance of this may be feen on the iflands near our coaft, and
thofe we call the out-iflands; where the peafants of both {exes
affemble together by hundreds, I may fay thoufands, about the
middle of January, to make their winter-harvett of the rich pro-
duce of the ocean. At thefe times every family takes with them
five or fix weeks provifion, chiefly dried fith, and keep out at fea
all day, and a great part of the night by moonfhine, in open
boats; and after that crowd together by feores into little huts;
where they can hardly have room to lay themfelves down in their
wet-cloaths. Here they repofe themfelves the. remainder of the
night, and the next morning they return to the fame laborious em-
ployment, with as much pleafure and cheerfulnefs as if they were
going to a merry-making. Even the weaker fex is not exempt
from thefe hardfhips any more than the men ;_ but the women
have not beards in common with them, as Adam Bremen pre-
tends to fay, in his book de fitu Danie & reliquarum, &c. page
29. ‘This feems of a piece with what he fays of the Norwegian
men in the fame page, namely, that they live in woods, and are
hardly ever feen. His words are, “ Audivi mulieres effe barba~
tas, viros autem filvicolas, raro fe prebere videndos.” The hair
and eyes of the Norwegians are lighter than that of moft other
| nations }

24-3

24.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY

nations 5 and a dark complexion is as rare here as a fair com:
plexicn in France or Italy. Wedfee that the cold changes, hares,
partridges, and moft of the Norwegiam animals, from a dark or
brown colour, to the fineft white. We have the following ob-
fervations concerning the fair complexion of the » Norwegians, in
the Hamburg Magazine, tom. I. p, 48. « Farther- from the
equator the black colour of the inhabitants is oradually loft ;
they are {till pretty brown above the tropics; but we meet with
none that are entirely white till we have gone a great way into
the temperate zone, and at the extremities of thefe zones we find 3
the faireft complexions. The Alone, or flaxen complexion of
the Danifh women, ftrikes the eye of the admiring traveller, and
he can fearcely believe that the female he now beholds, and the
African he lately caft his eyes upon, are of the fame fex.
_ Car. Linneus, in his Fauna Suecica, obferves, that the nor-
thern people have generally light grey, or blue eyes, as well as
light-coloured hair, page t. ‘* Gothi corpore proceriore, capillis
albidis rectis, oculorum iridibus cinereo-cerulefcentibus.” But in
the mean time, tho’ John Ifaac Pontanus, in his Hift. Dan. pag.
777, makes it common to all the people that live north of the
Baltick, we may fay, that there is no rule fo general as to be with-
out an exception ; and therefore it is only to be underftood with
fome limitations, which Pontanus muft mean : but if it implies
all the nations north of the Baltick, then he muft have forgot,
that north of the Swedes and Norwegians, there is the Lapland
nation, which differs greatly from them in manners, cuftoms,
and language. They are of a lefs ftature, have a flatter vilage,
and, in particular, a dark brown complexiom and black hair.
This fhews, that where the temperate zone terminates, and the
frigid commences, there the inhabitants lofe their fair complexion,
and grow darker, as exceflive heat darkens the fkin, and gives the
inhabitants of the torrid zone a tawny complexion. Hence we
fee, that two oppofite caufes, namely, extreme cold, and ex-
ceflive heat, in this refpect produce the fame effea *.

* Lorfque le froid devient extréme, il produit quelques effects femblables 4 ceux de
la chaleur exceflive. Les Samoyedes, les Lappons, les Groenlandois, font fort ba-

fanez. On affure méme, comme nous.!’avons dit, quwil fe trouve, parmi les Groen-
tandois, des hommes auffi noirs que ceux de Afrique. Le froid comme Je chaud,

~ doit deffecher la peau, l’alterer, & luy donner cette couleur bafance. Buffon. hift.

natur. tom, ill. p. 527.

3 ~The

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAYF.

The cold in Norway and Sweden by no means obftruéts the
growth of the body, which is obvious, by the compleat ftatute
of the people of thofe nations; but the Laplanders, Greenlanders,
and Samoiedes, are all a fhort, thick-fet race, of a-dark brown
complexion, which is certainly occafioned by the cold, that is
very intenfé in their climate. .

5) Bb 2.

To reprefent the genius, or difpofitions of the minds of a
whole nation, has its difficulties, and is liable to many exceptions.
However, nobody will deny (what daily experience fhews to be
true) that every nation is, in fome degree, characterifed and dif-
tinguifhed by its particular air, nourifhment, education, and
-manner of living. . | 7

Having premifed thus much, I fhall enquire into the mental
qualities and genius of the Norwegians. They are generally

245

Qualites of
the mind.

dextrous, brifk, penetrating, and ingenious, efpecially in all tagenvity

kinds of mechanic performances. ‘This may be feen by the pea-
‘fants never employing any hatters, fhoemakers, taylors, tanners,
weavers, carpenters, {miths, or joiners; nor do they ever buy
any goods in the towns: but all thefe trades are exercifed in
every farm-houfe. They think a boy can never be an ufeful
member of fociety, nor a good man, without making himfelf
‘mafter of all thefe. |

_ In fhort, the peafants of no country are fo dextrous at every
thing as thofe of Norway, and our good neighbours the Swedes;
where they have much the fame method of educating their chil-
dren. But it is true, however, that thefe dabblers in fo many
trades feldom excel in any one branch; but it is fufficient that
they perform well enough for their purpofe *. | Many of fheic
polypragmatic peafants bring their work to fuch perfection, that
it is hardly diftinguifhable from town-made goods. At Hardan-
ger, not far from hence, there are feveral young country fellows
who make their own violins; and fome of them are fo good, that

* How ingenious a great many of thefe Norwegian peafants are in building of
fhips (which they do only by imitation, without any rules) may be concluded by the
numbers that are built at Arendal, and other places ; fome of thefe are from two to
three hundred lafts burden, fit for the Afiatic trade, and that company has bought fome
of them for that purpofe. At the aforefaid Arendal there is frequently built four or
five of thofe large fhips in a year, and many fimaller veffels.

| Parr H. | Rrr oe I

246

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUYr

I_ have been affured, they are fit to play upon in concert. But
what their genius moftly leads them to, is carving in wood all
manner of devices with their Tolle-knive, being a fhort broad
knife, which is alfo of their own forging; fometimes their perfor-
mance turns out fo well as to be worthy of admiration, tho’ they
do it without the help of any rules in the art of drawing. A-
moneft others, in the beginning of this century, a peafant who
lived near Bragnzs, whofe name was Halvor Fanden, excelled in
this art; the connoifleurs would give their weight in filver for his
carved cups, and other works in baffo relievo. And in the Royal
Mufzum, they are look’d upon as their greateft artificial curiofity.
Ol. Jacob in Mufzo Regio, p. 46, fpeaks of him in thefe words,
** Canthari, pocula, pyxides et vafcula plurima, ex acere, quibus
fioure varie elegantiffime incife, opere et ingenio ruftici Norvegi
in diftriétu chriftianenfi prope Bragnefium, qui Halvor Fanden
appellatus. Rufticus hic fuit, et folius cultelli ope id in ligno,
aliaque materia preftitit, ut artificibus aliis, vel folertiffimis, pal-
mam przripuerit. Nec feulptura faltem et celatura, verum et
archite€tonica, fabrili, mufica et futoria arte infignis fuit, et ex
parte omni polydadalus, Filios quoidam reliquit, artium paterna-
tum fectatores, quorum plerique et fidibus {ciunt, et inftrumenta
omnia mufica conficiunt; imo artem pictoriam, {culptoriam, cap-
fulariam, fabrilem, archite@tonicam, venatoriam et plures alias
callent.” In the fame Royal Mufzum, there is to be feen a buft
of Chriftian V. carved in a certain wood called been-wood, by a
fhepherd, who in the year 1688, when the king went to Fron-
heim, ftood in the road- to fee his majefty pafs, and received fo
ftrong an impreflion of his face, that he was able to reprefent
every lineament and feature to the life, without having ever feen

the original but once en paflant. What the Norwegian genius is

capable of when affifted by education, and proper inftrudtions in

the art of {culpture, the three great mafters Berg, Bog, and Arbin,

can witnefs; whofe merits are fo well known, that they need no
encomium. .
I shall in the next place, give the reader fome account of the
bodily exercifes ufed by the Norwegians. pa Ya
Formerly the Norwegian youth, not only amongft the common
people, but alfo amongft thofe in a more elevated flation, were
trained up to wreftling, riding, {wimming, throwing the dart,
{cating,

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.
fcating, climbing fteep rocks and forging iron. The other part
of their education confifted in writing the Runic character, blow-
ing the horn *, and compofing fongs, and odes. Hence king
Harald Haardraade, {peaks thus of himéfelf; ’
= “ Tthrottir kan ck atte,

Ygs fet ek lid at fmida,
Feur er ek huaft a hefti,
Hefik fund numit ftundum,
Skrida kan ek a fkidum
Skyt ck ok rek fue at nytir,
Tho letr gerer i gordum |
Gollrings ved mer fkolla. _ |
Which is thus tranflated by Wormius, “ Exercitia oéto novi,
ftrenué dimicare audeo, equo viriliter infidere valeo, aliquando et
natare confuevi, in foleis ligneis currere novi, jaculandi et remi+
gandi arte bene polleo, attamen virgo Ruffica me {pernit.
Rognauld Kolfon, count of the Orkneys, writes thus of himfelf
and his arts, | :
~ « Taft em ek aurr at ofla
Ithrottir kan ek niu
Tyni et tradla runum
Tid er mer bok og {mider
Skrida kan ek a fkidum
Skyt ek ok re fua nytir
Huort veggia kan ek hugein
3 Harpfkatt ok brog theetta.
i. e. Ludum fcacchicum exercere promptus fum, exercitia novern
calleo, novi exarare litteras runicas, affuetus fum libro et arti fabrili,
* Next to founding the horn, which is a kind of hautboy, they have a mufical
inftrument, which the Norwegian farmers call lang-leck; this has fix brafs wires
itretched upon a founding board about four feet long, and fix inches broad; the found
of which will hardly pleafe.a delicate ear; but the peafant prefers it to a ghittar, or
lute. But the violin is the inftrument moft admired by our peafants, and is fome:
times made ule of in thefe parts not very feafonably, I mean in the houfe of mourn-
ing, where they will fit at the head of the coffin playing all day long, perhaps to
drive away melancholy. They do the fame when the corps is carrying to chutch in
a boat, which is frequent in the weftern parts. But this is not fo ftrange, as an old

and fuperftitious cuftom in fome places in the diocefe of Chriftianfand; where they

afk pa dead perfon why he died? if his wife was not kind to him? or his neighbours
civil to him? in fome places in Lardal in the diocefe of Bergen, every one that comes
into the room where the corps is, falls on his knees at the coffin, and begs forgive-
nefs from the deceafed if they have ever offended him. The reverend H. C. Atche,
has told them that it is very foolifh, and too late to afk forgivenefs at fuch a time,
but he can hardly break off fuch an ifiveterate cuftom:

I | in

Noble exer-
cifes in fora
mer times.

48

NATURAL, HISTORY of VORWH4Y.

in foleis ligneis curreré novi, jaculor et remigo, convenienter utrum=
que teneo fidibus canere et carmen componere. Vide Ol. Wormii,
Laitterat. Rimica, Cap. xxii. p. 129. | at oy! |

“There were other exercifes formerly practifed in N, orway, which
are thus defcribed in Snorro Sturlefen’s Norvegian Chronic

les,

"pag. 166, et feq. “ King Olaf: Tryggefen, was ftronger, more

alert, and nimbler than any man of his time. He could climb
the rock Smalferhorn, and fix his fhield on the top of it, &c. He
would walk without the boat on the oars while the men were
rowing. He would play with three darts at once, toffing them
up in the air, and would always keep two up, and one down in
his hand.. He was ambi-dexter, and could ufé his weapon with
both hands, and throw two darts at once; he excelled aij his
men in fhooting. with, the bow, and. in {wimming he had no
equal... Ina word, ‘he was cheerful, jocofe, and affable; he was
humble, obliging and good-natured, and was expeditious in all

his undertakings, &c... Sigmund Breftefen, ufed to practife thefe
exercifes with the king, namely, f{wimming, {hooting, climbing

the rocks, and all other manly exercifes which heroes and warti-
ors practifed in thofe times; and none could come fo near the
king in all thefe, as Sigmund.” +5 |
SHEET. VI |
The capacity of the Norwegians for literature, is not inferjor
to their fkill in mechanics and bodily exercifes, Had they had
the fame opportunities for improvement as their neighbours have
in Denmark, they would make an amazing progrefs. We may
judge of this by the children in Norway, who take their learning
extremely faft, and are capable in a very fhort time to. get a book
by heart, and -to comprehend the meaning of it; efpecially fince
{chools are upon fuch a good footing, God be praifed, as I have
every where found them on my annual vifitations, with equal joy
and furprife. This advantage the peafants here enjoy preferable to
their equals in moft other countries, namely, a lively and pene-
trating genius, fit for great and noble enterprizes. ‘This I afcribe,
next to the fine clear air they breathe, to the agreeable relith and
pleafing fenfation the mind feels in a ftate of liberty; which they
enjoy without interruption, free from flavery, vaflalage, and all
obligations to foreign fervices, Every Norvegian peafant, efpecially
2 : the

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

_ the freeholder that can pay his taxes, governs his houfe and pot.
feffions with as much power and authority as a nobleman; no-
body dire&s or controuls him. This gives them a certain free-
dom and generofity of mind; and if the liberal arts, as I_men-
tioned above, had here fuch encouragements, as in fome other
countries, Ido not doubt but that they would make a very great
progrefs in a fhort time; and amongft an equal number of any
other nation, our Norwegians would undoubtedly be found of a
fuperior genius, to adorn the republic of letters. As a proof of
this I will appeal to the writings of fome of our moft eminent
authors, whofe works are partly printed and partly in manufcript,
fuch are Ardtander, Aflac, Berndfen, Bielcke Borck, Brinck,
Brunfmand, Camftrup, Cold, Dafs, Ewertfen, Engelbrecht, Faft-
‘ing, Gunnerus *, Hagerup, Heitmand, Herfleb, Holberg, Juel,
Kraft, Kragelund, Ramus, Schoning, Sperling, Spidberg, Unda-
lin, &c. not to mention a great number of very learned Ice-
landers whom I do not take notice of here, though they are of
Norwegian extraction. It is true we have not in Norway, ac-
cording to the German faying, fo much Schul-witz or learning,
as Mutter-witz or natural-genius. Of our poffefling the latter
there cannot remain the leaft doubt with thofe who have con-
verfed with the Norwegians ; for their brains are not frozen up,
as the ignorant may imagine, but rather like the air they breathe,
clear and penetrating. We find by experience, that thofe who
live fartheft up the country, near Tronheim, are the moft inge-
nious +. If one enters into converfation with a Norwegian
peafant about any fpiritual or temporal affairs, that may come

* This Norvegian, born in Chriftiania, at prefent Mag. Legens, at the univerfity
_of Jena, is reckoned by many learned people to be one of the greateft metaphy-

ficians and philofophers in this learned age, which appeared particularly in the year -

1748, when he publifhed a demonftration of the exiftence of a God, and the unity
of his Being; correcting and amending the fyftems of thofe who wrote before him
on this important fubject, with great modefty and ftrength of reafoning. He fhews
them how deficient their arguments are to confute Atheifts and Sceptics. See

C. Evon Windheim Gottings Philofoph. Biblioth. vol. 1. p. 299, and particularly.

Pp. 324, where one of his adverfaries writes of him thus: ‘* I think they have with
juftice ranked Gunnerus among thofe profound philofophers who have left the others
far behind,”
+ Meanly they feek the bleffing to combine,
| And force that fun, but on a part to fhine,
~Which not alone the fouthern wit fublimes,
But ripens fpirits in cold northern climes ;
Which from the firft has fhone on ages. patt,
Enlights the prefent, and fhall warm the laft.
Popr’s Essay on Criticism.

Part II. a He SMe -- within

249

250°

Politenefs.

Fidelity.

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

within the circle of their knowledge, and*require only natural

‘parts to comprehend, one fhall find them provided with judici-

ous and pertinent anfwers. Their gueftions are generally clear

and rational, and their anfwers difcover great penetration, and

knowledge fuperior to many who have had all the advantages of -

education? 3
SeEB eC Feo Webs

_ Another good quality obfervable in the N orwegians is civility,

and a courteous behaviour, being very obliging and willing to

ferve others. In this they do not fall fhort of the politenefs of
the French, for they refemble them more than any other nation;

‘the return they have for it, from the undifcerning, is much the

fame as the French meet with. For it is generally thought that

‘where there is fo much complaifance, there. is little fincerity ;
-and many foreigners doubt whether the Norwegians civil words,
looks, and proteftations, are fincere. ’Tis true, the laft are often
-as little to be depended upon here as in other countries, and the

oreatelt profeffions of friend{hip fometimes require the greateft

‘eaution.. But full it is found to be true in general, that the Nor-
-wegians civil and obliging deportment, ought not to make their

fincerity and honefty fufpeded: Their behaviour is not affe@ed,
but quite natural to them, and may be looked upon‘as the par-
ticular genius of the nation. The Norwegian peafant, in. point

‘of politenels, exceeds the Danifh Burgher; and the Norwegian —

Burgher, efpecially of the mercantile clafs, in this refpect, equals

at leaft the Danifh Nobility. As for fidelity and honefty, I think,

I have not found them lefs practifed here than in other countries;

“but this I muft fay, that where fuch a good principle is difco-
-vered, it requires in the perfon who poffefies it, a double caution

‘to guard againft the fubtle fchemes of the crafty and defiening..

But in general the Norwegians are a faithful honeft people *,
and their fidelity to their fovereign fhewed itfelf remarkably to-

wards the king, of whofe throne they have been found to be the

main fuport.

* And even Molefworth cannot help praifing the Norwegians, in this and other
refpects, in thefe words: ‘* The inhabitants are a hardy, laborious, and honeft fort
of people.” Account of Denmark, c. ili. 3. p. 28. It is a double commendation to

_ be commended by a man that only excels in fcandal.

I | . Expe-

o

NATURAL HI ST ORY off VORWAY.

~ Experience, which is the bet inftruaor, has remarkably fpread
the fame: of their conduct in ‘war, and- inteftine broils, which
have put their duty and fidelity to the teft. But as clear as this
point is, it ftill.would be much more confpicuous, if the account
of all their wars and expeditions were collected, and the memory
of their great actions preferved. As a further proof of their valour,
and fidelity to their king and country, I will only add an inftance
or two that happened in the laft war, though well known. I

mean the zeal of thofe citizens that fet fire to their own houfes

to diflodge the enemy ; and of the peafants who difperfed them-

{elves about in the rocks and defiles, with their fire-arms, to cut

off their retreat, and did not fuffer them to pafs without being ©

26k

remarkably weakened. But, _ omitting feveral other particulars, vatour.

I thall only briefly relate what the late commander in chief, licu- —

tenant-general Von Lutzov told ‘me as an inftance of the fidelity
of the Norwegians. In the year 1716, when the Swedifh army
had invaded Norway, and whilft one of the governors of a forti-
fication on the frontiers, was lying near a navigable river, with
his corps, which was greatly weakened, waiting for frefh tranf
ports from Denmark, there came a number of grey-headed far~
mers to him, and offered themfelves, with all their accoutrements,
as volunteers for his majefty’s fervice. Such zeal and willingnefs
gave him the greateft hopes of a fuccefsful attack. There came
one day, particularly, a body of 300 fuch volunteers from
Tellemarken, who were vigorous, and in good {pirits, with fire-
arms and three weeks provifion in their knapfacks, and accofted

him. thus : ‘*,Good day, father, we hear you have got ftrange

unwelcome guefts that you want to get rid of ; if you have
a mind to make ufe of us, only tell us what we muft do, and
you fhall fee that we are men.” It was thefe peafants who were
commanded by captain Coucheron in the ation of Krog-wood,
when the Swedes endeavoured to force a paflage through, and
were repulfed with the lofs of 200 men; but the Norwegians,
who were well pofted, did not lofe a man. _ Many inftances of
the like are confirmed by the following infcription, to be feen on
one of our Norwegian medals.

Mod, troefkab, tapperhed, og huod fom giver zre,
Den heele verden kand blant norfke klipper lere.

Courage,

And

Good fea-

men.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

1. e. Courage, fidelity, valour, and every thing that is praife-wor-
thy, all the world may learn amongft the Norwegian mountains. |)

Valour, united with fidelity, has been, from the greateft anti-
quity, the characteriftic of the Norwegians. Sturleffen and Tor-
feus have almoft filled the ancient chronicles with accounts of
the great exploits and heroic atchievements of the Norwegian
kings and nobility, and even of common men ; fometimes lay-
ing other countries under contributions, and fometimes nobly
defending themfelves, and preferving their liberty from ufurpation,
tyranny, and oppreffion *. |
_ In general, the inhabitants of the mountains have an advan-
tage in that refpe@ ; for it feems as if the hard and rugged rocks,
which they have continually before their eyes, infpired them with

a contempt of dangers and difficulties. The great number of

beafts of prey feen in thofe parts, oblige them to carry arms be-
times, which they know how to handle from their childhood.
They are inured to troublefome and fatiguing journeys, and or-
dinary coarfe diet ferves them as well as the mot delicate food.
The condenfed cold air towards the pole, braces up the fibres,
clofes the pores, and keeps in the internal heat. Hence they are,

“ Et gens dura pati, & fortiffima fternere doéta.”

The fkill of the Norwegians in maritime affairs is well known;
they chiefly excel at fea, to which they have moftly applied
themfelves, and -where they have acquired the greateft glory.
Even in thefe later times, we have had ereat heroes at fea; and
Heinfon, Adeler, and Fordenfkiold are defcended from. thefe.
They have a genius for all warlike employments, and bodies
and conftitution well adapted for the fame, and are not eafily

* Ea regio robuftiffimos educat viros, qui nulla frugum luxuriA molliti {zepius im-
pugnant alios, quam impugnentur. A multis retro feculis, partim inopia adaéti, par-
tim freti viribus quee facilé faciunt mortales infolefcere, mare Britannicum diu tenuére
infeftum. Nonnunquam foli, aliquando Danis junéti, Britanniam & Gallias funt po-
pulati, nec quievére donec de {uo nomine Normandium in littore Galliarum confti-
tuerent. Albert Crantzius in prologo Norvegie. Concerning the Danes and Nor-
wegians partaking of the honour of the great exploits of thofe people, which all the
old annals call Normannos, fee Thormod. Torf. Hift. Norv. p. i. 1. i. c. viii, & in
preefat. where he fays, ‘* Satis teftantur quanta jam inde A prima hominum memo-
ria, gentis Norvegicae potentia, quanta in ore omnium celebritas fuerit. Ut non diff- -
tear interdum Norvegis, five ut 4 quibufdam fcriptoribus dicuntur Normannis, ea
adfcribi, quae 4 vicinis Danis fuére praeclaré gefta, quemadmodum, vice verfa, his a
nonnullis attribuuntur que ab illis, extra patriam, edita gloriofa facinora in-yulgus
innotuerunt,” ‘ .

I } re-

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.
repulfed, but-will fupport the honour of their nation, and undergo
the greateft fatigues with very little reft or nourifhment. Olaus
Magnus calls the Norwegians, ‘ durum & indomabile genus
bellatorum, ob ingentem animi & corporis ferocitatem, & ani-
mofitatem, ac etiam propter duriflima exercitia, &c..... Acre
genus hominum nullis bellorum afperitatibus cedens. Hit. fep-
tentr. lib. vi. praat. p. 180 *

253

What a pity it is that this ees courage and aime fhould Quartelfon

degenerate, in fo many of our people, to a difpofition for fight-
ing and quarreling among themfelves, when the common enemy
does not call upon them to exert it. The many parties and fac-
tions, in ancient times, are glaring inftances of this unhappy dif
pofition. Thefe ran in the blood from one generation to another,
and brought’ on inteftine wars which ruined their country. Such
were the Bagler, Birke-beener, Breed-fkegger, Varbelger, Slit-
unger, and Rib-bunger ; their origin, views, and actions, are
to be feen at large in the civil hiftory of this country. ‘There we
may learn, that they had valour, courage, and fidelity to their
fovereign, but always difcovered a turbulent and revengeful dif-
pofition, Even the common peafants would ftand upon their
point of honour, and fight it out with their knives; and_ before
they began, they wifvalds hook themfelves together by the belts,
then draw their knives, and would not be parted till one or the
other was mortally wounded, or killed. This brutifh cuftom
prevailed in Norway till about the middle of the laft century, to
fuch a degree, that they fay, when a peafant with his family was
invited to a wedding, the wife generally took her hufband’s
{hroud with her; becaufe, on thefe occafions tl they feldom parted
before they were intoxicated with liquor, the confequence of
which was fighting, and thofe battles feldom ended without mur-
der. Therefore the chancellor, Jens Bielke, ftrove to the utmoft
of his power, to cruth this quarrelfom fpirit, and made an order,
that every man fhould deliver up his knife to. proper officers as
{oon as dinner was over, and before they had drank to exce&,
But ftill there were many fo wicked as to provide themfelves with
two knives. Very lately this abominable practice has appeared
again in Lerdal, and feveral other places. Some of the peafants

* The Norwegian army, at this prefent time, confifts of 30,000. effective men,
befides 14 or 15000 failors, fuch as all Europe can hardly match.

Part Il. ph fede Ltt who

254

Ambition.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

who have put away the inftruments and broké themfelves of this
wicked cuftom, {till retain that revengeful {pirit, and that infos

_ lence and pride which were the promoters of it. | However, they

make ufe of a lefs pernicious inftrument, and employ the lawyer’s
pen inftead of the knife. They are-very obftinate, and will per-
fift in their animofities to the laft; and if a poor man has it not
in his power to purfue his fuit, ee neighbours will often make a
collection to enable him to do it. This fpirit-of ftrife and con-
tention our Norwegians feem to have tranfplanted with their arms
and colonies ; for it is vifible at this day in the French province

of Normandy, which was peopled by the Norwegians, and derives

its name from them. The inhabitants of Normandy, are rec-
koned very litigious and full of chicane, and find employment
for an incredible number of lawyers that abound in that province,
according to the :teftimony of one of their own countrymen,
whofe words are as follows. See Buddzus’s general hiftorical lex
icon, ad vocem Normandie. ‘“ The inhabitants in general are
wile and fagacious, but pafflionate. The common people in par-
ticular are apt to quarrel, and love to go to law, and the no-
bility are commended for their valour.”

Crantzius defcribes the Norwegians in general to Be obftinate,
and not eafily moved from their refolutions, which I mutt allow.
His words are, “ Populus qui in rupibus fuis induruit non facile
mobilis ab eo, quod femel apprehenderat. . Ante Chriftum agni-
tum, nulla gens pertinacior errorum, poft fufceptam fidem Chrifti,
nulla immobilior : ferunt aliquando terra fua qualibet de caufa
peregrinatos, cum primum redierint terramque tetigerint, pronos
cadere in terram, & facto figno crucis, eam in terris ofculari. O!
inquiunt, terra chriftiana ante omnes. Adeo generis fui cultum
attollunt, ceterorum contemnunt.” Albert. Crantzius in Norveg.
lib, vi. cap. iu. p. 754.

The Norwegian peafant is infpired with a commendable am-
bition, which makes him ftrive to live independent of others,
and without being in any body’s debt; and if his freehold be
incumbered, he ufes his utmoft efforts to clear and redeem it
out of the hands of a ftranger. >

There are many peafants who are not a little ‘proud of being
thought to be defcended from the ancient nobility, and even the
royal family. “This ridiculous vanity, often prevents them from

mar-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 286
marrying their children very advantageoufly, by ftanding upon
their blood and birth. And if a thing once appears in the eyes
of a Norwegian, either honourable or fhameful, he does not he- |
fitate a moment which to choofe. For they are fond of being
refpected and honoured to the higheft degree, and the great com-
plaifance, as I have before obferved, which they fhow to others,
is not without a view of being paid again in the fame coin. Their
ambition was known to old king Hagen, who, according to
Mathew Paris, was much preffed by the king of France, to let
his troops (which were deftined for the holy war) join the French
army; but he rejected it, faying, that each of the two nations was
too proud to live in harmony together. The faid writer was the
legate that brought the letter to the king, and according to his
own account had this anfwer from his Norvegian majefty.

“¢ Grates refero copiofas piiflimo Dom. Regi Francorum, qui
meum defiderat im peregrinatione fodalittum, fed novi in parte
naturam Francorum, et ficut dicit poeta, ego dico.

Omnifque poteftas impatiens confortis erit,

Omnifque fuperbus impatiens confortis erit.
Gens mea impetuofa eft et indifcreta, impatienfque omnium in-
juriarum et moleftie. Si ergo inter tales et fuperbos contentio
oriretur, uterque noftrum irreftaurabile damnum incurreret, &c.”
Vide Thorm. Torfeum. p. iv. 1. 4. c. 38. p. 253.

From the fame fource fprings the Norvegian’s defire to diftin-
guifh himfelf in his ftation by fine cloaths, elegant houfes, &c.
This is very confpicuous in moft of the trading towns, where
commerce gives them an opportunity of converfing with foreign-
ers, efpecially the Englifh, whom they chiefly endeavour to imi-
tate; but for want of abilities to equal that nation in {plendor,
magnificent entertainments, furniture, and equipages, a great
many ruin themfelves *, ~ yee

But though the Norwegians endeavour to follow the Engelith .
in thefe particulars, and in being conceited, and having a ereat
opinion of their own country and nation, ftill they are very unlike
them with regard to friendfhip and hofpitality. For I do not
think, that there is any country in the world where the people

are fo hofpitable, liberal, and willing to ferve and oblige ftrangers Geos "

* Our Bergen merchants who are-moft of them defcended from the frugal Dutch,
or Germans, continue ftill in that plain way like good fober tradefmen.

I t as

256

Health, and
long life.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

as they are in Norway. A traveller ts feldom futiered to pay for
his lodging, which may partly proceed from the fmall number
that vifit thefe parts; therefore they think it a duty, to treat
the ftranger as well as it isin their power, and look upon it as
an honour done them, if he accepts of their civilities. Notwith-
ftanding all this, the peafant never gives the upper end of the
table to the ereateft gueft that ever comes under his roof, for he
thinks that place belongs to himfelf only. They keep open houfe
for three weeks at Chriftmas, and fet out the beft things their
houfes afford, the table being fpread and loaded with victuals

during the whole time *.

Sade Ce To VILL,

As the Norvegian contributes to the good and happinefs of
others, fo he alfo endeavours to make himfelf chearful, and al-
ways to appear good-natured. Envy and difcontent are here ba-
nifhed to the rich and great, whofe temporal advantages are ra-
ther a plague than a comfort and happinefs to them. But the
middling and common people who are the greateft numbers in
every country, and conftitute the nation itfelf, are feen here chear-
ful, and as happy as I believe in any country, excepting France.
The little they have to indulge themfelves with, which fhall be
fhown hereafter, relifhes, and agrees with them, and they enjoy it
though it be plain and homely; except in’ public companies and
entertainments, where they are rather too much inclined to drink.
But in their daily courfe they have no fuperfluity, and therefore
moft of them arrive to a great age. Many to eighty or ninety,
fome to a hundred or an hundred and twenty years +.

* Tfaac Pontanus praifes the Norvegians in this and other refpects, in chorograph.
defcript. Dan. p. 697. | het ar ke

‘¢ Incolae funt probi, fine fuco ac fallacia exterorum amantes, et fi qui alii hofpitales.
Et fane olim que celebrata eft Julio praefertim Ceefare Germanorum hofpitalitas, ea
velut hinc relegata hic adhuc locum tenet. Gratis enim peregrinantem excipiunt
aluntque, is viciflim, fi quid forte refundat, non ut debitum, fed ut benevolentiz ac
animi grati tecmerion accipiunt.” . '

The Norvegian peafant’s hofpitality extends itfelf fo far on Chriftmas-eve, as to in-
vite the birds to be his guefts, and therefore, he hangs out at the barn door on a pole,
an unthrefh’d fheaf of corn which draws the fparrows and other {mall birds thither,
where they feaft and make merry. m/s : .

+ In the year 1751, in the diocefe of Aggerhuus only, a hundred and thirty-fix
perfons then had reached eighty years of age; there were befides forty-one of ninety,
and four of a hundred, and upwards. ,

: | | f

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

- I fhall juft mention fome extraordinary inftances of longevity
recorded in hiftory, which, however, I will not vouch for as un-
queftionable truth, but let them reft on the credit of my authors.

- J. Ramus, in p. 126, gives an account of Auden Evind{en,
bifhop of Havanger, who about the year 1440, died in the two
hundred and tenth year of his age; which, fuppofing the calcula-
tion to be true, is almoft an unparallel’d example.

. Another inftance is more certain, namely, that of Adrian
Rotker, who was feventy years alderman of Tronhiem, and died
about the beginning of the laft century, being a hundred and
twenty years old, according to Gerh. Mittzovii Prefbyterolog,
p. 34. Ramus tells us again, p. 194, of a minifter at Holtaalen
in the diocefe of Tronhiem, whofe name was Michel; this gentle-
man before the reformation in the year 1535, was employed by
the archbifhop to collec fubfidies for king Chriftian IL. and lived
to be a hundred and fifty years old, being thirty years blind. His
fucceffor, the Reverend Mr. Andrew Bernhoft, who was his curate
four years, and died in the year 1666, lived alfo to an uncommon
old age. Perhaps the air of Holtaalen contributes much to Jon-
gevity, as fome people fay of Guldbrandal, efpecially Lefloe-Gield
through which there is a continual draught of fine frefh air; fo
that thofe aged people who are tired of life, retire to fome other
place where the air is lefs falutary, in order to get rid of the life
of which they are weary. | |

Hans Aafen, who firft erected copper-works at Roraas, where
his picture is to be feen in the church, died in 1683, aged a hun-
dred and fixteen, according to the Rev. Mr. Abildgaard’s jubilee-
fermon, p. 37. In M. Wicland’s monthly intelligence, for the
year 1722, p. 55, it is faid, that a peafant’s wife near Stavanger,
whofe name was Lifbet Walevand, died in the hundred and thirty
feventh year of her age, and left behind a hufband aged a hundred
and ten. The fame author fays, that in the year 1725, a peafant’s
wife at Narfen, in the diocefe of Tronhiem, died at a hundred
and twelve, and had her fenfes and memory perfec to the laft,

He likewife adds, that in the year 1728, p. 88. a woman aged
a hundred and twenty-feven, died in the parifh of Rofdal, but
does not mention her name, fhe was married in the fixty-fixth year
of her age, and lived in wedlock fifty-five years, and after that

was fix years a widow. Chriftian Drakenberg a Norvegian, fa-

Parr II, 7 Uuu mous

257

258 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

tous for his great age, who, I prefume is ftill living at Copenha-
_gen, kept his wedding at the houfe of his Excellency count Daune
Schiold about fifteen years ago, and then he was faid to be a hun-
dred and thirteen years old; fo that he muft now be about a hun-
dred and thirty. His pi@ure has had the honour a long time
fince to be put up in the Royal Mufeum. I cannot fay how far
that ancient pair are advanced in their years of which Mr. Wie-
land, quoted above, gives an account in p. 88. ad, ann. 1727.
He fays, that the hufband, by name Hans Nanfen, was then ninety
feven, and his wife Maria Mads was a hundred and one years old;
that they had then lived feventy years together in wedlock, at a
place called Steens-gaard, in the county of Jartiberg; that they
both enjoyed a very good flate of health, and that the old man
could do the work of a labourer. In the year 173%, Nans Gaf-
mand, a labourer at Eegelands iron-works, died, being a hundred
and nineteen years old; at a hundred and two he married a fecond
wife, and was fo vigorous that he could walk from Eegeland to
the town of Dramen, which is about twenty Norway, or a hun-
dred and twenty Englifh miles. Wieland Relat. ad hu. ann. p. 7.
But there is fill a more extraordinary inflance, an account of
which was delivered into the Royal Chancery in the year 1737,
An extraor- by his excellency de Witth, relating to a farmer of that province
iu by name Knud Knudfen, who, in the year 1705, and in the
eighty-firft of his age, married his deceafed wife’s fifter, Ingri
Tallach’s daughter, who was then thirty-nine years old, and were
both fentenced to death for the inceft committed. Upon this
they fled to the mountains and hid themfelves thirty years in the
woods, living like hermits, or rather like wild beafts upon what
they could catch by hunting, &c. They continued in this folitary
place till the woman was feventy years old, and the man a hundred
and eleven, and perhaps would have liv’d fome years longer, if the
minifter, whom he follicited to adminifter the holy facrament to
him, had not out of an indifcreet zeal, delivered this extraordinary
couple up to the hands of juftice, and put them into a prifon;
where the poor old man could not furvive the return of the king’s
pardon, and the woman was obliged to do penance publicly in
the church. “There is another moft remarkable account, and
‘perhaps, fo extraordinary an inftance is not to be met with in the
hiftory of any country, which I have from undoubted py:
: an

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 259

and therefore cannot leave this fubjec& without inferting it, In

the year 1733, when his late majelty Chriftian VI. and his royal

confort Sophia Magdalena, vifited their Norvegian dominions, they

took up their refidence in the houfe of lieutenant-colonel Colbi-

ornfen in Friderickfhald, who was defirous of diverting his royal

guefts with what they call a jubilee-wedding. This was Oe ateaebee
formed in the garden under tents pitched for that purpofe. wedding,

There were four couples married, being country-people invited
from the adjacent parts, and out of all thefe there were none un-
der a hundred years old; fo that all their ages put together made
upwards of eight hundred years. Their names were, Ole Torre-
fen Sologfteen, who lived eight years afterwards, and his wife
Helje, ten years; Jem Oer who lived fix years after, and his wife
Inger who lived feven years; Ole Beffeber and his wife N~--, and
Hans Torlafkfen who lived ten years after, and brought with him
Joran Gallen who was not his wife, but being a hundred years
old, he borrowed her for this ceremony; fhe alfo lived ten years
afterwards. Thefe eight married people, being each upwards of a
hundred years. ‘old, made themfelves extremely merry at this ju-
bilee-wedding, and the women, according to the cuftom of the
country, danced with green wreaths on their heads, which brides
always wear on their wedding-day.

The royal family and nobility were prefent to fee this extraor-
dinary ball, which without doubt, was as imnocent a one as ever
was exhibited. They had each a genteel bride-prefent given them
‘to carry home. I thought myfelf in a manner obliged to take
notice of this uncommon entertainment, as it has not, as far as I
-can learn, bitherto been remarked by any writer. The Scots, who
partly breathe the fame air with us, have alfoamongtt them a great
many examples of perfons of an uncommon great age. Dr. Bab.
Sibbald tells usin his Prodom. Hift. Nat. Scotie, p. 44. and lib. ii.
p. 4. of a man whofe name was Lawrence, that married a fecond
time in the hundredth year of his age, could row out in his boat
to fifth till he was a hundred and forty, and died at laft worn out
with age, without the leaft fymptoms of any diftemper. Amongft
the Swedes, who are our neighbours on the other fide, and like-
wife breathe the fame air, are found ftill more extraordinary in-
-ftances, of perfons living to a hundred and fifty-fix and a hundred
and fixty-one years; of this, as well as of the fruitfulnefs of the
I , | Norwegian

566 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUL

Norwegian-women, Mr. Buffon’s words concerning Olaus Rud-
beck’s account are as follows: ‘ In Sweden the women are very
fruitful: Rudbeck fays that they have frequently eight, ten, of
twelve children; and it is not at all {trange that fome women fhould
have eighteen, twenty, twenty-four, or even thirty children. Rud-
beck fays farther, that there are men who live to be upwards of
roo yéars old, and fome to 140; and that there were two in par-
ticular, one of which arrived at 1*6, and the other at 160 years
of age. But it is true that this writer is a little enthufiaftic in the
praifes of his own country, (Il eft vray que cet auteur eft un en-
thufiafte au fujet de fa patrée) and according to his reprefenta+
tion, Sweden muft in all refpects "be the fineft country in the
world,” &c. Buffon. Hiftoire Nat. Tom. iii, p. £72.

Se on Ons Mame DP.

Health 2f- Though Norway, like Sweden, is in general a very healthful
ab ican country, yet it is not exempted from its peculiar difeafes ; efpe-
cially the inhabitants of the diocefe of Bergen, along the fea-fide,
and on the weft-fide of File-feld. The air in thefe parts is not
very falubrious, and differs very much from that. of the eaftern
and fouthern parts of Norway; for on the other fide of that long
chain of mountains, which I have taken notice of before, they
have both in winter and fummer a fine clear fky, with as dry and
healthful an air as in any part of Europe. In this province the
air is generally damp, thick, and foggy; and tho’ it caufes milder
winters, it is not fo healthful as a thinner air. This appears by
‘the effe& it has on our peafants, when they come here from other
parts of the country; for they feem as if they were entirely out
of their ‘element, and can hardly breathe in it; nor does it agree
with their health. This mutt be attributed to the great weftern-
ocean, that extends from America to Norway, from the furface of
which a vaft quantity of damps, or particles of water, are daily
‘evaporated. Thefe are driven hy the foutherly, wefterly, or north-
‘weft winds to our coaft, without meeting with any obftruction,
till at laft they ftrike againft the high chain of mountains men-
‘tioned above, which are ninety-fix Englifh-miles ealt of Bergen.
"There they meet with refiftance, and being condenfed, their
gravity prevents them from rifing above the tops of the mountains

to go farther, and they cannot get back except they meet with

ts mynen alk

NATURAL HISTORY of WORWAY.

an eaft or north-wind. On the othér fide of thofe mountains they

are quite free from thefe damps and fogs. File-field is like a

bank to keep back all thofe moift vapours that come from the
fea, and prevents their loading the atmofphere, till they fall in
immoderate rains, as they do here in the fummer; for it is feldom
known to rain in thofe parts but in {pring or autumn. |

Amongit all the trading-towns in N orway, Chriftianfand is
reckoned the moft healthful. The truly learned and Rey. Mr. Jens
Chriftian Spidberg, dean of that diocefe, gives me in his letter of
May 12, 1751, this reafon for it: He obferves that Chriftianfand
lies in a more moderate climate than moft of our other towns ;
that the horizon is free all round, and cleared by the winds from
every quarter; fo that thick fogs and heavy rains do not laft long
there.. The ground it ftands upon is a dry fandy foil, twenty or
twenty-five feet deep, fo that the rain is foon dried up; for which
reafon epidemic difeafes are feldom known thete, or difappear
and are ftopt by the change of the feafon. Hence the inhabitants
of that city live to be very old, often to eighty, ninety, and fome-
times even to an hundred years of age.. | |

261

Among the difeafes which moftly appear in the diocefe of various ait

Bergen, which is the moft unhealthful {pot in all N orway, I fhall “*

firft take notice of a kind of {cab or itch. This is chiefly found
amongift thofe that live along the coaft, occafioned probably by
eating great quantities of fat fith, and efpecially the liver of thé
cod. ‘This is properly a Scabies-Scorbutica, which may be called
a leprofy, but not fo infe@ious as the Oriental Lepra; for mar-
ried people live together many years, and the healthy is not in-
fe&ed, tho’ the other party has it. But if they have children, they
fometimes take the infeGion, tho’ not ,always.- This diftemper
generally lies in the blood a long time before any eruption ap~
pears; at laft it breaks out in ugly boils on the face : they are,
then generally fent to hofpitals ereéted for that purpofe, of which
there is one at Bergen, and another at, Molde in Romfdalen.-Oug
phyficians are of opinion that this difeafe ‘may be cured in young
people; but tho’ they. have often attempted it, I do not find that
any one has been thoroughly cured, without fome remains of the
diftemper. This may be faid, however, that when they get tol
lerably well, they do not confine. themfelves to. the regimen that.

Parr II, AX X oe ene eee

2

|

NATURAL HISTORY of VORM4Y.

Leprofy. is pteferibed them fo puné@tually as is required *.. What Mr. Luke

Debes obferves in his defcription of Faroe, p. 283, ought to have
a place here, concerning the northern-leprofy, which in the dio-
cele of Bergen, is found to be of the fame kind and quality as
that on the oppofite coaft of Faroe. His defcription of this di-
{temper is as follows. ‘ The phyficians fay there are three forts

of leprofies; namely, Tyria fo called from the ferpent Tyro. The

{kin of the perfon, infected with this kind of leprofy is foft, and
full. of {pots like warts, and fometimes peels off in feales..

The fecond fort is called Alopecia, from the hair turning foxy,
and then falling off. Perfons afflicted with this are red-faced,
and {hed their beards and. eye-brows. | |

The third fort is called. Elephantia 3; the. fkin. of a perfon ‘in-
feéted with this fort refembles that of an elephant; and the face,
with every part of the body, is full of tubercles. mh

The leprofy that this country is molt fubject to is the elephan-
tia. . For the leprous perfons here are full of livid tubercles, which
fometimes break out into boils, and disfigures their faces 'ex-
tremely. They are hoarte, or fpeak through the nofe ; but the
diftemper is more virulent at {pring and fall, and carries off a
great many. What chiefly occafions this difeafe is the quality, of
the air, and the diet of the inhabitants.;: for, as I have intimated
before, the cold is not immoderate here, but. we. have’ avery
damp air. This, im_ general, produces the feurvy, which is a
{pecies, of leprofy, ;efpecially in thofe who do. not.ufe much exer-
cife. Befides the air, their food, efpecially of the poorer fort,
which confifts of meat and fith half rotten,. in the: winter, and
frefh fifth without any, falt, and milk, in the fummer, contri-
~* Jn the north of Holland tne Qiamp air, and their daily-hourifhinent, Saat
chiefly .ffh, have the fame effect and Iam informed that the fame fort of Scabies-
Scorbutica likewife appears amongft the common people there, which feems to be
confirmed by the following teftimony: ‘* We are now in North-Holland; and I
have never feen amongtit fo few people, fo many infected with the leprofy as here.
They fay the reafon is becaufe they eat fo much fifh’’. James Howell’s Familiar

Letters, Part I. Book 11: N° xiii. p..151, Dr. Ruffel publifhed a-piece in the Lion- -
don-Magazine of June 1752, p..278, ‘wherein he/fays,. ** That common fea-water,
applied both internally and externally, will cure not only the feurvy, but,the above-
mentioned leprofy, if it ,has not: taken too deep root; dnd the lands are dill pre-|
ferved.” And in the fame place he adds, ‘* That there is askind of fea-weed, called
Quercus-Manna (of which there is enough here) which is” good for the fcurvy-in
the gums, if rubbed witht.” Jf it be fo, then! God’s providence thewsirfelf re-
markably by diftributing fuch univerfal remedies, econs at wants of each:
ration.:! Concérhing the Norwegian -fea-weeds, I havegiven 3 the‘account-T can,
in-the firft part of this work. oe Th read

butes,

ft *

Linc in a rte ed ait to this pee _, Such nihal ef{pe-
cially in thofe who are not of a ftrong conftitution, muft gra-
dually corrupt the blood, and then the difeafe diffufes itfelf
through the body, till at laft it appears externally. This diftem-
per may be communicatéd to,others, for it is infe@ious; and as
it lies a long while in the blood before it breaks out, -feveral
perfons marry, and think they are both free from it; but at laft
one of the parties appears to be leprous. | |

It is fomewhat furprifing, and fhews the care of. sie
that children do not always inherit this diftemper from their pa-
rents. I have known three inftances, wheré women haye been
infected with thefe leprofies, and have had feveral children, moft
of which are\now married, and have not yet difcovered any
fymptoms of it. For this reafon, the inhabitants, when they
choofe a-wife, give themfelves no concern whether her parents
are leprous or not. Ivhave likewife known inftances where the
father has bechideprous, and the children quite free: from that
diftemper. (It oftenshappens, that when a married'couple have
lived together fome time, and: the parties find that one of them
is infected, they will ftill cohabit together, fo long as it does
not appear externally, till they are feparated by orders from the
government. However, the party that was healthy, remains un-
infected; and yet fometimes.a perfon may be infected by a very
itighs contact of a leprous perfon.

On the other hand, there are inftances of poor mifetable
wretches who are quite free from the leprofy, but being defti-
tute, are therefore put into thefe hofpitals amongft the leprous
patients, where they eat, drink, and daily converfe with them,
and ftill remain uninfected all their lives.” So far Mr. Debes.

_ The ordinary {curvy would prevail in this country a great deal Scurvy

more, if it was not for hard work, which is the beft prefervative
againft it, and keeps the juices in’ ‘conftant circulation. ' Hence

thofe that ufe but little exercifé, and have a good appetite, fel-_

dom or never efcape this diftemper. «Nature has ordained feveral
berries and roots in this country, which are ‘excellent : antifeorbu-
tics, efpecially cochlearia, or {curvy-grafs. . Some eat this herb raw,
others make < a decoction of it with milk ; ; and in Nordland,
RO Ma a3, Soailh ety cero Ptie ‘Git Sei eects | ae _ where

264

264

Catarrh,

Allevilde.

Begavning.

NATURAL HISTORY of VOR AY.

where it grows very {trong, and is called erichs-gres, they ufe it
asa pickle in the winter *. |
-- Catarrhs, and other diftempers which affect the head and
breaft, and are called here kov and kriim, appear very frequent
along the coalt in the {pring. Thofe that don’t come out into
the air every day, and therefore are the fooneft fenfible of the
cold, are moft affli@ed with thefe phlegmatic diforders; but the
expectoration caufed by this kov is generally ferviceable to the
con{titution. | ‘ |
Fhe common people, who are the leaft troubled with this
diftemper, drink four whey as warm as they can bear it, by
way of remedy or prefervative, which cuts and attenuates the vifcid
obftruG@ing phlegm, and promotes the difcharge of it,
Landfarfoct is the name the peafants give a certain fever, which,
however, comes but feldom ; it is contagious and epidemic, from
whence it has its name. Mr. Luke Debes, in his defcription of
Faroe, compares it to the diftemper which the foldiers are apt to
catch when they are encamped in damp places. It is malignant
and painful, and carries off great numbers, and thofe that furvive
are cured by God’s bleffing, and the ftrength of conftitution, for
we know of no remedy for it. it |
Allevilde is the name of a difeafe, which feizes the patient at
firft with violent fhooting pains, which move about from one
part of the body to another, like the arthritis vaga, and often
breaks out into fores and ulcers, The fuperftitious peafants afcribe
this to a fort of blaft which comes from the fea, or out of the
earth or mountains, which according to their opinion, is caufed
by witchcraft, and the remedy they make ufe of, is as abfurd as
the imaginary caufe of the diftemper. But thofe that are wifer,
ufe tar-water, or the oil extraéted from the raw liver of fifh, and
apply it both internally and externally. _ 3 3 |
Begavning, is the name of a kind of epileptic difeafe, but
feldom fo violent as in other countries. The women are moft.
fubjeét to it here in Bergen, from a fuppreflion of the menfes,
oceafioned by the dampnefs of the air. Some pretend to fay that

“* On Hitland, God’s providence has provided them with the fame remedies againft
this difeafe which is contracted there, by the fame manner of living, for they eat fo
much falt-fith that they are very fubject to the fcurvy. Nature has furnifhed them
with plenty of {curvy-grafs ; they have no phyficians or furgeons, neither have they
any occafion for them. ‘London Magazine for June 1752, p. 276.

3 it

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

it is ssdiahieviad Ly the eider-down beds they lie upon 5 but Th.
Bartholinus in his medicina Danor. domeft. par. 65, is not of that
opinion, as | have before*obferved, in the defeription of the
eider-bird.

In the eaft- -country, or on the otherfide of File-feld, they
hardly know any thing of the difeafes, which are common here
along the coaft. The air in thofe parts, as has been obferved
before, is much purer, drier, and lighter, and as healthful as in
any part of Europe. The long and deep valleys are like venti-
tilators, or channels, thro’ which the wind, as it were, runs in
a current from one end or the other, and keeps the air always
freth and 1 in motion. ‘The mountains or high grounds, are re-
markable for the falubrity of the air, for moft people die of old
age there, without ever having exper ‘enced what it is to be fick.

In the laft century, however, this fine healthy air was twice
infe&ted with a plague; efpecially in 1630, when the new city
of Chriftiania,. loft 3000 inhabitants.

In 1684, the fame contageous diftemper appeared afreth, oat
did not rage ‘fo far about, abate they burnt feveral woods, and
the heat He fmoak occafioned by thofe fires, difperfed and pu-
rified the infected air. What the reverend Mr. Spidberg obferves,
in the letter quoted above, is very remarkable, namely, that when
the plague raged here, it did not affect Roraas, Quikne, or Mel-
dal’s copperworks ; ; for the poifonous and infectious effuvia, were
corrected by the ftrong fulphureous {moak and vapours, that in-
corporated with the air, for twelve or fifteen Englifh miles round
thofe copper works. | But diforders of the lungs and confump-
tions are more frequent there, than in thefe weftern parts, caufed
probably, by the fame fulphureous vapours, and perfons afflicted
with thofe diforders, finds themfelves much relieved by the damp
air, which affeéts weak lungs lefs, than that which is clearer; for
a dry, keen air, is too penetrating and fubtle for them.

If the rickets, called here the Eneglith ficknefs, with which
children in other countries are much afflicted, be derived from a
damp and foggy air, according to Mr. Daubenton’s opinion * ;

* Tl n’y a que deux cent ans, que cette maladie eft connué ; ; elle a commencé en

Angleterre, & de la elle a paffé en France, en Hollande, en Allemagne, &c.. Des

célébres médecins ont cru, que le rachitis pouvoit etre caulé par un air froid & nebu-
iiss chargé de vapeurs & d’exhalaifons, &c. Hift. nat. tome iii. p. 56.

Parr Il. Yyy oan

cry,

266 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
then one would imagine, that it muft be very frequent here in
Bergen, which is contrary to experience. For this diftemper is
unknown here; and we can fay the fame of agues or tertian and
quartan fevers, which we know only by report from other coun-
tries. The fmall-pox, which annually rages in Denmark, comes
among{t-us about once in feven years, and farther north, in the
diocefe of Tronhiem, every tenth or twelfth year ; but in the ma-
hors of Nordland, perhaps it feldom appears above once in fixteen
years, and then makes great havock amongft both young and old.
The laft time that the fmall-pox raged in thefe parts, which was
in the year 1749, it fwept away in the city of Bergen alone,
528 perfons, moft of them young.

CriEt . Act Pees
A continuation of the former,. concerning the Norwegian nation,

Sect. I. The food or diet of the Norwegians. Sect. U. Apparel. Secr. I.
Habitations and manner of building. Suct. IV. Various ranks and occu-

_ pations. SeEcr.V. The Norwegian nobility, both ancient and moderns
Sect. VI. Some thoughts concerning the Norwegian freeholders, Ge.

8 E-GrP,, dt.
N™ T. to the complexion and. difpofition of the Norwe-

gians, and the account of the various difeafes to which
they are fubject, it 1s natural to give fome account of their food
er diet, their houfes and manner of living, .
The Nowe. In the firft article, namely, dict, there is a great difference
gar sae” betwixt thofe who live in the country, and the inhabitants of the
trading towns; a great part of thefe confift of Danes, Germans,
Dutch and Englifh, who make their bread, and drefs moft of
their victuals in the Danifh fafhion. ‘They may have almoft all
forts of provifions here in perfection, excepting butchers meat,
which is not fo plentiful in Norway, as it is in Denmark. As for
wild-fowl, and all forts of game, as alfo fith of all kinds, except
carp, we have-them as good, and in as great abundance as in
any country in Europe. It is obferved, that when any foreigners
~ come to Norway, they are furprifed to fee heaps of oyfter and

lobfter-fhells lying at the doors of poor little huts, and ae
| 3 shat

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
that people of fome fortune mutt live theres. The milk of our
cattle is very good and rich ; and as for all forts of wines, {pices,
&c. greater quantities of thefe are imported than there is occafion
for, or good ceconomy requires, of which I could fay a great
deal, if my intention were to moralife in a natural hiftory. Be
this as it will, moft of our merchants live in a more elegant man-
ner than the noblefie in other countries. All kinds of wines
(which I mention as a proof of this) are fo common in Norway,
that it may be queftioned whether there is not more confumed
here in private families than even in the wine-countries. This
makes it appear the more extraordinary, that pope Innocent VIII.
in the year 1490, difpenfed with the Norwegian Church from
ufing wine in the facrament, and allowed them to ufe mead in-
ftead of it. It was pretended that wine would not keep, but
‘turned four and was fpoiled by the fevere froft, though, in all
probability, it was then not colder than at this prefent time, and
we can preferve wine here now, as well as in any climate. This
remarkable fact is denied by Bzovius in contin. annalium, N° 39,
p- 329, but on this flight foundation, that the pope (which is
very true) had not power to grant fuch adifpenfation. ‘* Fal-

fum eft, eum aliquod tale difpenfaffe, cum fammus pontifex ali-—
quid circa integritatem {acrificii immutare non poffit.” This —

conclufion drawn, a jure ad faGtum, might make. one doubt
whether the priefts in the Roman church do receive the cup alone,
and deny it to the reft of the congregation. But we may more
fafely depend upon what Volateranus writes on the occafion, in
commentar. Urban. lib. viii. where he fays, « Norvegie Inno-
centii VIII. conceffione permiffum, fine vino calicem facrificare,
quod immenfo frigore vinum in illa regione importatum accefcat.
Cujus rei gratia legatio miffa.” See more relating to this in an-
nal. ecclef. Dan. tom. ii. lib. vi. cap. i. p. 331.

267

The peafant in Norway, as in other places, keeps clofe to the the farmers

cuftoms and manner of living of his forefathers; and as he fol-°**

lows them in other things, fo does he likewife in eating and
drinking. Upon this account he enjoys, as has been obferved,
a conftant feries of health, and lives to a good old-age. Bread,
which is the chief fupport of life, is not made of rye, among
the peafants, but upon particular occafions, as weddings or enter-
tainments, becaufe they fow but little of that erain, as has been

aa

208

Flat-brod.

/

NATURAL HISTORY of VORHA4YLr

obferved before; nor would they choofe to eat it conftantly,
for the leaven which is always put in rye-bread would not agree
with their ftomachs. This our Norwegian foldiers find by ex-
perience, when they are commanded to march far from home,
and receive, the bread (which is provided by the government) that
is baked for the regiment ; which. always purges them pretty
feverely at firft. |

Oats, in moft of the provinces, is the beft grain, and is larger,
whiter, and fuller, here than that of other countries. Of this
the peafant makes his bread, but not in the form of the loaves
of rye-bread; which they call ftumpe-brod, but in flat round
cakes, about as big as a {mall difh, and extremely thin, this they
call flad-brod *. They bake it upon.a round iron plate, or a
flat {tone fet over the fire; they roll out a handful of dough with
a rolling-pin, to the extent of the iron plate, and before it is quite .
enough on one fide, they turn it with a {mall ftick made for that
purpofe. Thefe cakes are foon baked, fo that the baker, who
is generally a woman, can difpatch enough in one day to laft a
whole year ; for this fort of bread will not mould or fpoil, if kept
ma dry place. Some reckon the oldeft to be beft ; and in for-
mer times, fhe ufed to be efteemed a good houfewife that faved
for her fon’s wedding, a piece of bread that fhe had baked for
his chriftening. ) !

If grain be fearce, which generally happens, after a fevere
winter, the peafants are obliged to have recourfe to an old cuftom,
as a difagreeable, but fure method of preferving life. Their bread,
in time of-{carcity, is made thus, they take the bark of the fir-
tree, boil it and dry it before the fire, then they grind it to meal
and mix a little oatmeal with it; of this mixture, they make a
kind of bread, which has a bitternefg and a refinous tafte, and
does not afford that nourifhment, that their ufual bread does.
However, there are fome people, that think it is not right to difufe
this fort of bread entirely, and even in plentiful years they fome-
times eat a little of it, that they may be prepared againit a time
of f{carcity, which by the goodnefs of providence, does not hap-
pen in a century +. |
| Our

* In Mingrelia and Georgia, and thofe parts, juft fuch bread is ufed. Ils ont du
pain mince comme du papier. Cheval. Chardin, Voyage en Perfe, tome i. p. 186.

+ In the province of Bergen, which is the moft barren, we have the leaft reafon to

complain of the want ef corn ; for by the continual trade our merchants carry én to
. en-

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

Our neighbours the Swedes, make the fame fhift, even when

there is no néceffity for it. Mr. Peter Hogftrom, in his deferip-_

tion of Lapmark, §. 19. p. 375, fays, ‘* We know how to make
ufe of our fir-trees, even to the fupport of life, and many a
brave fellow, and bold foldier, in the weftern bottom, has been
brought up with the fruits of them. Nor is it always out of ne-
ceffity, that they feed on them, but to keep up an ancient and
laudable, but now utterly defpifed virtue, called frugality. A
labourer does not find his ftrength impaired, by eating bread
made of the bark of trees.” So far Mr. Hogftrom, whofe laft
words give me a good deal of furprize, if they are grounded upon

-fufficient experience. In the laft years of {carcity in this country, -

namely, in the years 1743, and 1744, when they were obliged
to make ufe of the old expedient, feveral made an experiment
on the bark of elms; they firft dryed it, had it ground, and
made bread of it. This they found fweeter, and rather more
agreeable to the tafte, than that made of the bark of the fir-tree.
Others made ufe of it in another way ; they foaked it in water,
which received a fweetnefs from it, and became vifcid like the
white of an egg, fo that it might be drawn out feveral yards. In
this they put fome oatmeal, and the meal of the fir-tree bark,
and kneaded it well; this water binds it together, and renders it
more agreeable to the palate. In thofe parts where the peafants
have large fifheries, they attempted to mix the row of cod with
oatmeal, and knead them together. This made the bread very
clofe, foft, and well-tafted, at leaft to a hungry ftomach. But
I have been informed that it did not agree with fome of a lefs
robuft conftitution, and gave them the bloody-flux*. _

This bread made of bark, as well as the flad-brod or bake
bread in general, Th. Bartholin. {peaks of in his med. Dan. domeft.

“Denmark, and other places in the Baltick, they keep their magazines always full, fo
that they can furnifh other countries upon occafion, and even this year feveral thou-
fand tons of corn have been exported trom hence to France.and Portugal.

* The Norwegians that live by the fea-fide, eat dried ftock-fith inftead of bread,
like the Icelanders and Finlaps. Marc. Paul. Venetus gives us'the fate account of
the inhabitants of Aden, a province in Arabia, p. 163. ‘* Fiunt etiam ab incolis
panis bifcoéti ex pifcibus idque in hunc modum: concidunt pifces minutim atque
contundunt in modum farine, & poftea commifcent & fubagitant quafi paftum
panes, atque ad folem deficcari faciunt.” Gemelli Careri writes the fame, in his voy-
age autour du monde, Tome ii. p. 319, of the inhabitants of the ifland Lundi and
Augon in the Perfian gulph. *¢ Is n’ont de meilleure aliment que des fardines. Ils
les font fécher au foleil, & elles leur tienne lieu de pain, pendant toute l’année.”

ees | Zaz P: 304,

269

270

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
Pp: 304, and fuppofes that Pliny had fome knowledge of the laft.
‘‘ Ex abietis corticibus in Norvegia panem. conficiunt frugum in-
opia, & in regionibus borez frigidioribus ex glandibus, corylo &

| fago. Placente ill Norvegice ex corticibus arborum compacte

funt tenuiflime, & longiorem etatem ferre poffunt, quam. panis
coétus, feu buccellatus, quo naute in longis itineribus utuntur.
Alias placentas pinfunt ex farina hordei & avenee quas flad-brod
vocant, quafi panes planos. Plinii Artoptitii creduntur, de qui-
bus.” Lib. xviii. C. IL. ie ame ie
The peafants make themfelves a mefs- like hafty-pudding, of

oatmeal and barley-meal : this they call foup, and fometimes

they will boil a pickled-herring in it, or elfe a half-falted mackrel,
or falmon, along with this foup. It feems they do not chufe to
falt any kind of fifh thoroughly, but rather let it turn four firft.
Cod.and other fifh they dry in the air, which is the well-known
Berg-fifh, fo called either becaufe moft of it is: exported from
Bergen, or becaufe it is dried on the rocks by the wind and the
fun. ,

* ‘They are better provided in Norway with frefh-fith than in
moft countries, and up the country in the freth lakes and rivers,
they catch the falmon-trout, the Gedder, and other fifh in abun
dance. Likewife Growfe, partridges, hares, red-deer, ‘rain-deer,
8c. and what they cannot carry in the winter to market to the
trading-towns, which are fometimes at a great diftance, they
make ufe of themfelves They kill cows, fheep, and goats, for
their winter-ftock. They do not pickle and fmoak all, but cut
fome of it in thin flices, {prinkle it with falt, then dry it in the
wind, and eat it like hung-beef. This they call Skarke, and it
requires a ploughman’s ftomach to digeft it. They prepare vari-
ous kinds of cheefe from the milk, and they alfo boil it to a thick
confiftency, and call it Moffe-Brum, This, according to their

'. opinion, is a great delicacy. But tafte, as well as every thing elfe,

is regulated by cuftom among our peafants. |
_ They prepare themfelves liquors according to the cuftom of the
country, and at fet times, namely, againft Chriftmas they muft

* They drefs a particular difh, which I believe they ufed formerly in Denmark,
from whence the Germans have taken the name of Griitz-koph» or Groats-head.
This difh is made of one half groats, or meal, and the other half fat cods livers,
well chopped and mixed together; then they fill a cod’s head with it, and boil ir,
This they call-Kams-hovet, or Kamperute.
int have

>

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.
have a ftock of good ftrong ale in the houfe, as alfo againft
chriftenings and entertainments. On other occafions they regale
themfelves with very indifferent {mall beer, which they call mun-
gat. But their common drink in fummer is milk and water, and
in the winter, water and four whey, called fyre; This the peafants
wives in the fummer boil, and lay up for the winter *.

Qua virtus et quanta boni fi vivere parvo
Difcite ------------ Hor.

Here muft alfo be obferved, that as cold ‘climates do not admit
of fo much tranfpiration as warmer countries, but keeps the heat
in the ftomach by clofing up the pores, it confequently gives the
Norvegians a much greater appetite, and a ftronger digeftive fa-
eulty than common. Our merchants are very fenfible of the
difference caufed by change of climate with regard to the appe-
tite ; for in March, when they fit out tbeir fhips for the Green-
land and Spitfberg voyages, the people require twice as large a
ftock of provifions as will ferve the fame number of men in June
or Auguft, to go to Spain, or up the Straits.

What the Norwegian peafants, feamen, and fifhermen (next to
- brandy, which they are all extremely fond of ) admire moft, is to-
bacco. This weed they not only fmoak but alfo chew, which

they think is as wholfom, and as well-tafted as the Indians do

their Betel-areck. The fmoaking tobacco was firft introduced
into Norway in the year 1616, and then a foot of roll-tobacco
was fold for eighteen-pence. If it could be planted here, and
brought to perfection (for our fummers are warm enough, but
perhaps of too fhort a continuance) it would be a great advantage
to the country, and would fave the nation feveral hundred thou-
{and dollars, that are annually paid for that commodity. How-
ever, we ought not to grudge it the feamen and the mountaineers,
to whom it is a great refrefhment in cold winds and fevere frofts.
Snuff, which they call here Nefe-meel, they are not lefs fond of,

and always carry their fnuff-horn about them. His excellence the
Stadtholder Gyldenlove, knew their tafte fo well in this parti-
cular, that in his invafion on Viig-Sidéro, he diftributed a certain

-* This Syre, becomes at laft as four as vinegar, and is often ufed for that pur-
pofe; but when they drink it they generally mix a good deal of water with it,
fe

quantity

27%

272

Their ancient

drefs,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

quantity to every common man, and there is ftill feveral cafks
of the {nuff that was left lying in the magazine at Ageerhuus.

5 EAS Was

The Norvegians. who live in towns have nothing remarkable
or particular in. their drefs; but the peafants differ pretty much
from thefe, as to the fafhion of their garments, and the manner
of wearing them: The ancient drefs ufed in Norway, was with-
out doubt, the fame as the Fin-laplanders {till ufe, confifting of
ordinary furrs made of the rain-deer’s fkin. “The Afers, or the
followers of Othin, that poffeffed themfelves of the riorth, and
obliged the old Celto-Scythians either to retire to the mountains,
or to conform to their manner of living, introduced-another fort
of drefs, which is defcribed in Otto Sperling’s Commentat. de ve-

~ tert Danorum veftitu *. I think their fir change did not make

fo great an alteration, nor was it fo {plendid or fuperfluous, as
that which was introduced in the middle of the eleventh century,
in the reign of king Oluf Haraldfen. That monarch founded the
city of Bergen, and drew a sreat concourfe of merchants thither

from foreign parts, who brought new fafhions with them; of

which, -Snoro Sturlefen writes thus in his Norvegian Chronicles,
pag. 383. ~ Then the Norvegians took up many foreign cuftoms
and drefies, fuch as fine laced hofe, golden plates buckled round
their leggs, high-heeled fhoes ftitched with filk, and covered with

tiffue of gold, jackets that buttoned on the fade, with fleeves ten

* Concerning the Norvegians ancient mantle, called joop, Otto Sperling treats at
large, in his learned obfervations on archbifhop Abfolon’s teftament, Pi.Trg, $23:
from which I will quote a paffage, to thew, that formerly others took their fafhions
from us, as we have fince done from them, *“ Quis vero crederet, Danicam vocem
joop tot terras peragrafie, et tantam gloriam fui excitare potuiffe. Bene concludit
Menagius, poftquam in lexico fuo omnia recenfuit: les Allemans difent Giupp, pour
dire un Juppon, et je crois que c’eit de ce mot Allemand que I’ Italien Giubba a été
formé. Unde Germani traxerint ac habuerint hoc nomen et alia plura, nemo haétenus
folicitus fuit. Ex Dania enim, Norvegia et Suecia nemo credit quicquam proficifci
poffe quod juvet, cum tamen ad antiquitatem omnem illuftrandam, hinc fere petenda
fint omnia, fi quis recte fapere vult. Ufus eft illa voce chronici Norvegici feriptor in
manufcr. de magno Barfod, rege Norveg. dum ejus armaturam et veftitum defcribit,

(Hann hafdi oc filki Hiup rautan y firfkyrto, oc fkorit fyrer oc a bak

Fe 5h3 : ; 7
med guli filki leo. h. e.) Tunicam rubram fericeam anterius et pofterius leone flavi

ferici fignatam, fuper indufio geftavit. Quod fatis docet, vocem Joob et Hiup an-
tiquam Danicam et Iflandicam efle. Ita quoque pauld poft eadem hiftoria memorat:
(Eivindr. hafdi oc filki Hiup, med fama hoetti fem Konnuner. h. e.) Evindus etiam

‘tunica ferica, eodem modo quo rex indutus erat.” In the tranflation of the laft words,

Tthink it is likely, that the good O. Sperling has been miftaken, da med fama hetti,
may probably be rendered with the fame hat, eodem pileo, non eodem modo.

Le feet

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 274
feet long, very narrow; and plaited up to the fhoulders ; to thefe
dreffes were added many foreign cuftoms.” By this defcription
may be feen how much the Norwegians were inclined to pride
and vanity in their drefs. — | | |

After this however, we find that the long garment of the Afers
or the oriental drefs, was ftill in ufe, which was not changed for
fhorter, till the reign of the fon of this king Oluf, about the year
rr00. For king Magnus Olufsen was called, Magnus Barefoot;
from his introducing fhort clothes and bare legs. Snorro Stur-
lefen, in p. 3975 gives this account of the affair. “ It is faid,
that king Magnus wore the weftern drefs himfelf, and his ex-

-ample was followed by his men, and fome of his people, who
went bare legged, and wore fhort jackets, for which reafon, the
king was called Magnus Bare-leg, or Bare-foot.” — 3

The peafants here, as in moft other countries, are the only The peafaiite
people that do not trouble themfelves about fafhions and changes oe
of modes. However. they have fome difference in the cut and
make of their jackets and breeches, but that difference is fo {mall,
that it is hardly perceptible to any but themfelves. Thofe pea-
fants, which we call ftrile-farmers, have this particularity in their

drefs, namely, their breeches and ftockings are all of a piece,
fomething like thofe of the Huffars. They do not wear a jacket
with plaits, pockets, and buttons, like thofe now worn by thé
Danes, but a wide loofe jacket made of a coarfé woollen=cloth
which they call vadmell. - Their waiftcoats are of the fame, and
fome that will appear finer than ordinary, cover the fearns, and
put a border-all round, of the fame fort of ftuf& but of a dif
ferent colour, which looks like lace, and has a gay appearance,
The Hardanger peafants in particular, are remarkable for wearing
black clothes, edged with red, which diftinguifhes them aed
their neighbours. The VWaaflerne wear all black ; and the Strile
-peafants wear white edged with black: about Sognefiord, they
wear black and yellow, fo that the inhabitants almoft of every
parifh in the province, vary in the colour of their clothes,

The Vademel is a coarfe cloth, which the country peopleufe, and
is woven in the old fafhioned way, in what they call an oplta-pang.
This is a frame, in which the yarn hangs down againft the a
with ftone weights at the end of the warp, to keep it tight, Oe
is done much in the manner of tapeftry weaving. Inftead of a

Parr Il. A | fhuttle

Weaving:

Open neck
and breaft.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

fhuttle made of .a reed or cane, they ufe an inftrument that ore.
fembles a fabre, made of bone or iron, which they» think pre-
ferable. This is a flower way of weaving, than that practifed in
common, which is called here ror-gang 5 but then they think
that the Vadmel, woven in an opfta~gang, is much ‘clofer than
other cloth, and after it is-hrunk, it looks as clofe and {trong as
afelt. I have taken. notice of the hetbs and mo that they ufe
to dye with, in another place. ne

The Norwegians wear a flapped hat,or a little brown, grey,

or black cap on their head ;. this laft-is. a fort of quarter=cap

made quite round, and the feams are ornamented with black
ribbands. They have {hoes of a peculiar. fathion without heels,
or what may be properly called {oles ; they confilt of two pieces,
namely, the upper leather; which'fits clofe to the foot, to which
the other is joined in a great many plaits and folds. “When they
travel; and in the winter, they wear a fort of half-boots, that
reach up to the calf of the leg, thefe are laced on one fide, al-
moft like the ancient Roman bufkins.’ When they travel on the
tocks in the fnow;-and find that they fink in too deep, they put
on what they call truviers, which are round like the hoop of a
{mall barrel, work’d crofs with twigs or wicker, and. this keeps
them.up *. _ But as this way of travelling is troublefom, when
they have a long way to go, they put on feates about as broad as
the. foot, but fix or eight feet long, and pointed before ; they are
covered underneath with feals-fkin, fo that the fmooth prain of
the hair turns backwards towards the heel. With thefe fhow-
{cates they run about on the fhow, as well! as they can upon the
ice, and fafter than any horfe can go, and for which reafon the
corps of foldiers,, which are called keir-lobere or {caters, in tires
of war, march with great expedition, like the Huflars. —

The peafant never wears a neckcloth, or any thing of that
kind, except when he is dreffed ;. for his neck and breaft are al-
ways open, and he lets: the {now beat into his bofom, which he -
thinks is an ornament. On the contrary, he covers his veing

* Mr. Chardin reprefents, in his voyage en Perfe, tom. i. Dp. 140, Wa a print, a
Minerilia peafant near the Euxine-fea, with fuch {now-fhoes, or Norwegian truviers
on his feet. By this one may fee how nature and neceffity teach the inhabitants of
the moit diftant countries, in equal circumftances, the fame means in providing

againit difficulties. But who knows whether the northern Afers; Othin’s followers,
who came from the eaft, were not driven from thofe parts, .

-

clofe

NATURAL HISTORY of VORIFAY. 27

Nh

clofe to keep them warm, binding them round with a woollen
fillet, called Vaflunger, which goes feveral times round his om
-and is fuppofed to contribute to their ftrength. About Tt

body they wear a broad leather-belt, ornamented with convex stire.
-brafs-plates 5 ,to this belt hangs a brafs chain, which holds their
toll-knive, or their large knife, alana and other tackle ; the:
name of the whole is {lire +.

The women’s drefs I am not fo well Roinione with, eh.
that has its diftin@tions ; and at church, and genteel affemblies; Women’s o:-
they drefs themfelves in jackets laced clofe, and have leather- “"""
girdles, with filver ornaments about them, commonly worth fix-
teen or twenty rix-dollars. They alfo wear a filver-chain three
or four times round the neck, with a gilt medal hanging at the
end of it. Their handkerchiefs and caps are almoft covered with
{mall filver, brats, and tin-plates, buttons, and large rings, fuch
as they wear on their fingers, to which they hang again a parcel
of {mall ones, which = brillant, a make a gingling: noife
when they move. 3

A maiden-bride has her shi viata oe wile as full as pof-
fible with fuch kind of trinkets, as alfo her clothes. For this
-purpofe they get all the ornaments together that they can, off
thofe belts and buckles, buttons, plates, rings, &c. the more
the better, fo that fhe makes a grotefque figure, not much to
the advantage of her per fon a

aR BE ep Stag FA ee

- What the ancient Norwegiahs ie nenddas were, and their man- Habitation
ner of building, may be feen by the Finlaplanders tents or huts, it fa
on Kolens mountains, which confift of fix or eight poles, covered
with {kins or Vadmel. The ancient Germans lived in the fame
fort of huts, according to Tacitus’s account of their manners.

IE hey wandered about from place to place, and lived chiefly by
hunting, fifhing, and their cattle. When they had cleared one

+ Such belts and tackle hanging to them, Mr. Chardin, in “the place cited above,
tells us the inhabitants of Mingrelia ufe.. ‘* Les grands ont des ceintures de cuir,
larges de quatre doigts, couvertes de plaques d’argent, & chacun attache 4 la fienne'un
cotiteau, & la pierre a éguifer.”.

* This kind of dreffing is called in thefe parts anfti, which fome fay is derived:from
the Agnus Dei in popifh t times, which was their moft important ornament, efpecially
when it was fetched from Rome, and had the pope’s benediction; and then whoever
wore a piece of filver in the form of a lamb, confidered it asa fare amulet agdinit all
evil fpirits, &c.

'’ 3 | . {pot

276

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.
{pot of ground, fo that the few families that lived together, could
not. find any more fubfiftance there, they eafily. moved their
tents or huts, with all their baggage, to the next place that they
found convenient: for the whole country belonged to them and
their company, and prior occupation was, among{t them, the
only right and title *..

The Afiatic colony, that, a little before the birth of Chrift,
over-ran the northern countries, and fpread themfelves there,
built houfes of a more durable kind. For this purpofe they found
plenty of materials in Norway, which now furnifhes other coun-
tries with great quantities of timber. However, they did not
care to trouble themfelves with hewing of ftones in order to build
walls. b

In fome trading cities, efpecially at Bergen and Chriftiana,
they have, in this century, begun to build ftone-houfes; and
even in the old times, there were fome churches built of ftone,
efpecially of that valuable ftone called veeg-fteen, of which Tron-
hiem cathedral is built. Thofe churches were formerly an orna-
ment to the north. | | a

Their houfes here, in general, are built of fir and pine-trees,
the whole trunks of which are ufed in building, being laid one
upon another, and only chopp’d even to make them lie clofe,
At the corners they are joined by mortices, fo that they can never
give way. ‘Thefe trunks are left round as they grew, both in-
fide and outfide of the houfe, and are frequently boarded over
and painted, efpecially in the trading-towns, which gives them a

genteel appearance. Thefe wooden-houfes are counted drier,

warmer, and more healthful to live in than ftone or brick-build-
ings, but they are in much greater danger of fire; for which
reafon, they have generally vaults in the trading towns, in which
they depofit their valuable effects. The inhabitants of Bergen
do not truft goods of value, which are not in conftant ufe, in
their dwelling-houfes ; but keep them in their warehoufes out of
the town at Sandvigen.

_*® Strabo lib. vii. confirms this to be the manner of living of the ancients, even in
the middle of Europe. ‘* Commune omnium eft, qui iftis in locis degunt, facilis &

-_expedita foli mutatio, ob tenuitatem victis & quod neque colunt agros, neque fructus

recondunt: fed in cafis habitant, ftru¢étura in unum diem conftantibus. Cibus eis 4
peccore plurimus, ut & Nomadibus, quorum etiam imitatione, rebus fuis in currus
pofitis, facile cum-peccore abeunt.”

rt In

‘

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

In the country-villages, they do not build their houfes adjoin-
‘ing together, but in the manner of a great. many towns im Swit
zerland and Holland, every houfe ftanding by itfelf, with their
fields and grounds about them * ; and there are fome farm-houles
inhabited by one family only; that look like {mall villages ; but
they are generally let to three, four, or five families, and fre-
quently confift of fix, eight, or ten feparate apartments, and the
ftavburet, or magazine for all the provifion, is generally put at a
confiderable diftance from the dwelling-houfe, for fear of fire.
It-ftands very high upon polés, to keep the provifions dry, and
preferve them from mice and all kind of vermin. The kitchen,
where they drefs their victuals and brew their beer, flands alfo
feparate, as do the barns, hay-loft, cow-houfes, ftables, and the
like. Such a-farm has generally a mill belonging to it, fituated
by fome rivulet, befides a fmith’s forge; for every farmer; as has
been oblerved, is his own {mith, Up in the country, where
timber for building is but of very little value, there is many a

farm-houfe.as large and handfom as\a nobleman’s feat. The

dwelling-houfe frequently. is two ftories high, with a railed bal
cony in the front ; with handfom windows, and the rooms wain-=
{cotted. | a te ee

It may feem fuperfluous to take notice of the windows,, to
them that are not acquainted with Norway, for they are new
things, and feldom {een in our peafants-houfes ; for on this fide
of Filefield, in the whole diocefe of Bergen, where we feem more
tenacious of ancient cuftoms, it is rare even among the rich far-
mers, to {ee what they call a Glar-Stuerne, that is, a dwelling-houfe
with windows. If it be afked how they receive light, I muft ob-
ferve that there is at the top of the houfe (which is but the height

of the room) about the middle, a {quare-hole about as big as a

window; called a Liur, which gives them light. In fummer; and.

fine weather, they leave this hole quite open; but in winter, or
wet weather, it is {topped up with what they call a Siaay This is
a wooden-frame made to ft the Liur, which is covered with an
inward membrane (probably the midriff ) of fome animal that is
_* At Sundmoer, and other places in this diocefe, tdicke is to: be fee fome lonely:
houfes on the tops of high mountains, furrounded with rugged and fteep projecting
rocks, fo that there are few caftles fo inaccéffible ; for there is oftén but one way to

come at them, which is by fimall fteps, and here and there fome wooden pegs, fixed

e that the afcent is very dangerous, and few people venture up that.are not ufed ta
them. | ‘ |

Parr HL. 4B | 3 very

277

278 NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

> very - fr ‘ong and tranfparent as a bladder. This Siaa, is. lifted off

or put on with a pole, which is reckoned a moft neceffary piece

of furniture in every farm-houfe: Thofe that come toa farm-

houfe about any important bufinefs, efpecially courtfhip, mutt lay

hold of this pole: before they utter a word, according to ancient

eee ee cuftom. The fmoke pafles through the faid Liur, or lighthole,

tooms with-

Glartue = Out of thofe kind of rooms which are called Rog-Stuer, to diftin-
a guifh them from the Glar-Stuerne, or houfe with windows. The
chimney in the former, as in the farm-houfes in Holftein, does
not go through the cieling, which is arched, and about fix or
eight feet high in the middle; fo that the fmoke flies about till it
finds a vent at the above-mentioned opening. This cuftom feems
to be very hurtful to the eyes; but as the fmoke meets with no
obftruction, it foon rifes fo high as to be above a man’s head, and
_ it is eafily feen how low it falls by the colour of the walls, which
are not fo black in fuch. snes: i nuts or {moke-rooms, as in fome
that have chimnies.

Even kings have formerly lived in fuch houfes, nor did shies
know of any better method till the eleventh century, when king
Oluf Kyrre broke that difagreeable cuftom of building fire-places’
in the middle of the rooms, and ordered chimnies and ftoves to be
erected. This muft be underftood of his own palace, and at the
houfes of perfons of diftinétion; for to this day ftoves and chim-
nies are ufed but in few places by the common peafants in this
province. Under the Liuren, or light-hole, generally ftands a long
thick table and benches of the fame wood. At the upper-end of
the table is the Hoy-Sedet, or high-feat, which belongs to the
mafter of the houfe only, who has alfo a little cupboard for his own
ufe, in which he locks up all his valuable things. In towns they
cover their houfes with tiles; but in the country they lay over the
boards the fappy bark of birch-trees, which will not decay in
many years. They cover this again with turf, three or four inches
thick, which keeps the houfe clofe and warm. Sometimes you
may fee fervice-trees, and always good grafs growing upon the
turf, which induces the goats to leap about, and climb up there
for good pafture ; and many a farmer mows it, and gets a pretty

good load of hay from the ‘OP, as his houfe *.
SECT.
* As I have before quoted out of Chev. Chardin’s Voyage en Perfe, feveral ex-

amples of the Georgians and the Mingrelians agreeing with the Norwegians) in
bread,

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 279

According to the natural order, I muft how take fome noticé ee
of the trades and occupations of the Norwegians which are thefe
following ; commerce, mechanic-trades, agriculture, grazing and |
breeding of cattle, cutting of wood, working in the mines, fail-
ing, fifhing, and hunting. |

Commerce; or trading with foreign nations, has for many Commeice.
ages been in a flourifhing condition in Norway, arid even before
the planting Chriftianity amongft us. It was canftantly encou-
raged by all our kings, as may be feen in feveral places in the
Norwegian Chronicles ; and particularly Snorro Sturlefen fays,
page 89, and king Sagur, page 11, “* That when Biorn Haraldfen
reigned in Veftfold, he did not often go to war; but traficked
with the merchants that came from various places and countries
to Tonfberg. He had merchant-fhips at fea which brought him
precious jewels and valuable things. Upon this account his bro-
ther called him Biorn the merchant.” In the following king’s reign
there is often mention made of merchants from Denmark and
Germany, efpecially at Bergen, which was probably a place of
trade long before *. | reer

In the year 1170, king Oluf Kyrre made great regulations ©
at Bergen with regard to trade, and granted great privileges to
foreigners, particularly the Englifh, and Scotch, who for many
ages have carry'd on a great trade in this country; and continue
it to this day, as do the Dutch, and other trading-nations. |
have fpoken at large in another place of the German hanfe-com<
pany, fo that I need not fay any thing more of it here +.
bread, habits, efpecially belts and fnow-fhoes. I mutt likewife obferve, that thofe
Afiatic-mountaineers, have juft fuch houfes, Rog-Stuer, and fky-lights. ‘¢ Les
maifons font baties de groffes poutres jufqu’a comble, ce qui eft fait en terraile et
convert de Gafons. Ils laiffent une ouverture au milieu, c’eft par ou la lumiere
entre et par ou fort la fumée. On bouche ce trou quand on veut. (Ces fortes de
cavernes ont cela de commode, qu’elles font plus chaudes en hivér et fraiches en
été, et qu’elles ne font fujettes 4 étre percées par les voleurs.” :

* T know not otherwife what to make of Pliny’s words, which feem to fhew that
they had a confufed idea of the northern countries in his time; in Lib. rv. cap. 16.
he {peaks thus : ‘* Sunt qui etiam alias prodant Scandiam, Dumnam, Bergos, maxi:
mamque omnium Norigon, ex qua in Thulen navigaretur. A Thule unius diet
navigatione mare concretym,.” - Here Norway is put after Skaane, Denmark, and
Bergen, which laft the Romans muft alfo have imagined to be a country.

+ Forty or fifty merchant-men deeply laden from different parts of the world come
in annually in the fpring, and about eight hundred fhips loaded with the produce of

the country fail out of Bergen-harbour, where two or three hundred {ail are feen lying
at a time. I

3 af Tron-

280

Produce of
the country.

Mechanic
trades.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUY.

Tronhiem Chriftiania, and Bragnes, are the moft confiderable
trading cities of this kingdom, next to Bergen, whofe trade is very
confiderable to all parts of Europe, and brings in annually more
than 100,000 rixdollars duty on a moderate calculation. The
commodities or produce of the country which are exported from
Norway, are copper, both wrought and unwrought, Iron caft into
cannon, ftoves, and pots, or forged into bars, lead, though but
in {mall quantities, mafts, timber, deal-boards, planks, marble,
veeg-ftone, mill-ftones, feyl-ftones. Variety of fith are alfo ex-
ported, as cod, herring, falmon, ling, flounders, .and. lobfters;
alfo cow-hides, fea-calf-tkins, goat-tkins, fome drefled into cor-
duan leather, various kinds of coarfe and fine furs of bears, lofler;
vielfras, wolves, foxes, beavers, ermins, and martens; eider-down,
and other feathers; butter, tallow, train-oil, tar; yeniper, and fe-
veral other forts of berries, and nuts; falt; allum, glafs, vitriol,

and pot-afhes +. | Spe Th |
This nation has a genius for trade and navigation, though, as
has been obferved before, their {plendid manner of living in fome
places is an obftrucion to it. We fend. our. youths abroad to
Englifh, French, and Dutch-merchants counting-houfes, to ims
prove themfelves, and learn the languages; as fome young people
come here from the fame parts for a year or two for that purpofe.
_ Mechanic trades are not.in any great vogue.in Norway, becaufe

the peafant, as I have before obferyed, ; manufactures every thing
himfelf that he has occafion for; and does not want the affiftance

of any profeffed mechanic. For this reafon, there are but, two
cities in. the heart of the, country,’ which are Kongfberg, -and

_Roraas: all the reft are fituated.on the coaft, becaufe they depend

entirely upon trade and commerce; only fome few mechanics are
daily employed in making neceflary utenfils. All fine and curi-
ous works we choole to import from England, or Holland, though
in thofe articles we begin to improve, and by degrees find the
advantage of it, efpecially in joiners and cabinet-makers work,
Agriculture is carry’d on by the farmers in all the provinces,
though not with equal diligence and advantage, according to the
difference of the foil, as has-been fhewn before, in the chapter of
the growth and produce of this country. In the eaftern’ provinces,

+ All the above-named products of Norway, efpecially fith, metals, and timber,

may, upon a well-grounded calculation, amount to three million of rixdollars annually.
I ! “= Seer

NATURAL HISTORY of VORVAY.
particularly at Hedemark,) and alfo incthe manor of Nordland,
there are many farmers that every year fell feveral tuns of corny
of their own growth, not only to theif acighbours, but alfo ex-
port it to Sweden. . But on the contrary, there are found many
more that are obhged.to buy above half the corn they ufe, efpeci-
dlly'on the weft fide of Norway; there he is counted a good farmer
that:can‘ fupply his:ewn family with corn. This in a great mea-
fare proceeds from the peafants negligence in-many places, who
choofe to work in the woods, or at their fitheries, rather than em-
ploy themfelves" in cultivating theit lands; but now they begin,
moré than ever, to improve’ wafte prounds.. Thefe peaceable
_ times occafion a great increafe of people, and the ground belong-
ing to one houfe, is often divided into three, four, ‘or five parts,
among as many families; which makes thefe new inhabitants (ee
thécreceffity of being induftrious: in cultivating the ground in

order to fupport their families. ‘However, in: moft places their

induftry is not fo.great as it might, and ought to be in draining
the marfhy. grounds, and. turning them’ into good pafturey or’
arable land, which im other countries: has improved: fhany wafte’
places, and-rendered: them populous in a’ fhort time, according to
the words of the poet... PM aedcpeenyiciit thn , |
s-=--=Stenhifque diu palus aptaque remis, : a3
) » Wicinas urbes: alit ‘et erave fentit aratrame 2

?

| As, for the refh, the Lord of nature has diftributed various difti_
milar means of living among different nations, that one may have
need of the other; and that one country may difpofe of its faper-
fluities’ to another, and: ‘import other: things which it warts at
home. Thus'if Norway was'to. produce a faficient quantity fo
as not to: want foreign corn, T do not know where Denmark
would difpofe of. its fuperfluity in that ecmmodity. | Grazing,
and breeding: cattle is the chief part of the farmer’s employment,
by which» he not only {upplies his own wants, but gets a confi-
derable profit by fending to market their fiefh, tkins and hides,
In ‘the mountains the peafants make grazing: almoft their only
occupations and, as has been obfervedbefore, fend their cattle at
a great diftance to grafs, in fetes, of fruitful {pots on‘ the tops of
the mountains, or in the {mall valleys, and along the rivulets that

a8

Grazing.

run between the hills. They generally fend. dogs with them,

and women fervants to look after the cows,

to take care of the
Part Il. 4C

ilk,

282

Cutting of
wood or fell-
ing of timber.

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

milk, and to keep a fort of dairy, in little huts built for that pur-
pote. i | | . neue
That the employment of a fhepherd has been in efteem even
in thefe later times, may be concluded from Baron Holberg’s de-
{cription of Bergen, p. 133, where he fays, that Gudleich OfF-.

-mundarfon, one of the King’s ftewards, in the year 1328, had

been one of his Majefty’s fhepherds before. And Adam Bremenf.
fays, in his hift. ecclef. pag. 239. ‘* In multis Normanniz vel
Sueciz locis paftores pecudum funt etiam nobiliffimi homines,
ritu patriarcharum & labore manuum viventes.” _ |
Cutting of wood, felling and floating of timber, burning char-
coal, extraéting tar, and every thing that belongs to the woods,
is the principal employment of the peafants here in Norway.
Some do it in their own grounds, but moft of them are employed
in the large woods, at a great diftance from their place of abode,
which belong to the public, and are no one’s peculiar property.
They have the wood, &c. for their labour, and generally ftay
there for feveral weeks together, taking as much provifion with
them as they can carry, or have it fent after them. When the tim-
ber is felled and cut, they are obliged to leave behind a great deal
of what they lop off, to rot. They fetch away the large timber
in the winter, putting a horfe, or two, or more, to each piece,
and drag it over the fnow to the neareft river or lake, and in the
{pring the merchants, or their agents, are there to receive it, and
to order it to be floated where they think proper. In this work,
as well as at the faw-mills, and preparing wood for faggots,
making ftaves for cafks, and hoops. for the fifheries, a great num-
ber of people are employed, and greater numbers full in burning
charcoal. Of this commodity vaft quantities muft be delivered
at a fet price to the melting furnaces, namely, at four Danifh
marks, or two fhillings and eight pence Englifh per laft, each laft
confifting of twelve tons,, and every ton two feet {quare. The
peafants that live within eighteen Englifh miles of every melting-
houfe, is obliged to furnifh his quota at that price, for it is not
left to his option. . If this privilege were not granted to the mines,
it would be impoflible to work them. 3 a |
Out of the roots of the fir-trees, which, after the trees have
been cut down, have ftood feveral years in the ground, and im-

bibed

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 283

bibed the fatnefs of the foil, they burn for tar. This they do in

the open fields, and then they carry it to the towns to be fold and
exported. . ,

_ Silver, copper, and iron-works, afford a livelihood to many Mines.
thoufands of people in Norway, (as has been fhewn in its proper
place) for a great number of men are employed, not only in the
mines, but at the furnaces and ftamping-mills. 3

About a hundred and fifty-years fince, when they firft began
to open the mines, and work them in earneft, they were obliged
to fend to Germany for miners ; but now the Norwegians know,
as well as any people, what belongs to mining *.

Great numbers of the Norwegians areemployed in navigation and eg ae
fifhing, and maintain themfelves and families by thefe occupations.
Several thoufands go annually from this country to the Baltick,
England, Holland, France, Spain, and the Mediterranean, efpe-
cially when any of thefe trading nations are at war ; for then the
Norwegians get a great deal of money in a little time, by freight-
ing their fhips with the commodities of other countries, and tranf{-
porting them from place to place. -At fuch times, many a failor
never returns to his own country, and feveral of them acquire a
fortune fufficient to end their days comfortably. Along the coafts
of Norway, a vaft many get their livelihood by fithing, which is
the chief employment they have on the weft fide of the country.
Hence all the peafants that live near the fea, are fo accuftomed
to it from their childhood, that, like amphibious creatures, they
cannot live without rowing or dabling about in the water. There
a great many {pend, at leaft, half their time, and many end their
days in that element, of which they are fo fond. And though
their dead bodies are feldom found, yet there is a ceremony ufed
and a funeral fermon, which they call gravfeftelfe, preached on
the occafion. | |
_ The ancient and reverend Mr. Erich Leeganger, minifter in
Karfund, has affured me, that in one of his annexer, called Ud-
fire, during the time that he has held it, which is fifty years,

* Mr. John Anderfon fays, in his account of Iceland, fect. 11. that mines were dif-
covered in the northern countries long before any were foundin Germany. Vide Locenii
antiquit. Suev. Goth. cap. xvii. and it may full be proved, that that art was carried
firft to Germany from hence, (but was practifed more in Germany) and fo much im-
proved, that the northern people were afterwards obliged to go to learn of them,

and the Swedes have, in moft things of that nature, naturalized the terms ufed by
the German-miners. |

I ekiaitet | there

284.

NATURAL HISTORY of VWORWAY.
there has not died afhore, above ten grown men} the-réft' have
been drowned, being moftly fithermen, ‘and pilots, who» are

obliged to venture out in the greateft ftorms, when they hear a

fignal of diftrefs from a fhip.. In feveral of the out-iflands that
areat fome diftance from the coaft, and chiefly inhabited’ by
pilots, the cafe is much the fame; efpecially at Lindefns, in the
diocefe of Chriftianfand*. They fay, that moft'of the women
there, have had five or fix huftbands, one after another, and
people of credit have affured me that it is true. They fay it is
occationed ‘by the great number of fhips of all nations (fometimes
feveral hundreds-in’ a day) that go up the Baltick, which by en=
deavouring to avoid the dangerous rocks Jydtke' Rev, mutt pafs
by Lindefnes;, fo that by:attempting to: fave: thefe’ thips, many a
Norwegian pilot has loft: his life, and: lefeacwidow behind ‘him.
In Nordland’and Sundmoer; where the greateft fitheries aré; fuch
as are perhaps not to be equalled:in the world, moft of the inha-

_ bitants get their’ living from the: fea, and every year a’ great many

lofe théir-livesithere: 1> This often happens. by their own’ rafhne

and prefumption 5° for they make a psint of honour ‘of outhailing
ene another, and every one ftrives to be the firft that hoilts Gil,

D. Steinkuhl, in his Topographia Norvegica, p. £21, {peaking Ot
this infatuation, expreffes himfelf thus,“ Many’ plunge them-
felves wilfully into: misfortunes, by their rafhne® aiid” prefump-
tion, as well in boats asin fhips, by being fo bold and daring ;
for they. look upon it as a diferace to. lower their fails, in the
hardeft gale of wind ; and when they are going through a nar-
row channel, they will not give way, but run foul df, and fome-
times fink each other.” The Norwegians were good failors, and
uféd tothe fa in very ancient times: they difcovered the Wef-
Indies ‘fome] hundred: years before the Spaniards, and have left
behind them-a colony full fubfifting, as I have fhown above. If
wevenquire what expedient they ufed inflead of the compafé, the
Norwegian chronicles tell us, that it was.a raven which they took

with them, and. let ic fly as the Patriarch: Noah did; by this

*°The' reverend Mr. J. Spidberg, who has a great knowledge of his mother.coun-
try, and ‘its antiquities, obferves, in one of his letters to me, that Lindefnes,: which
name I rather think is-defived from linde-tree, was formerly called Lidas-nefs pro-+
montorium affictionum, from the many damages and fhipwrecks which the trading-
veffels fuffered there, as.the Portugueze, when they firft failed round Africa, called
the ‘cape Of Good-hope, ‘cabo de los Tormientes, on account of the dangerous-trava-
dos, .or ftorms of wind that they obferved here. ps

I ‘ means

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 285
means they difcovered when they were near any land; for it 1s
faid, the raven always turns itfelf towards the neareft land *.

“In the laft place, I fhall obferve, that huntiug, fhooting, and Hunting and
bird-catching, afford fome of the inhabitants of Norway, acom- - %y
fortable livelihood, for every body is at liberty to purfue the -
game, efpecially in the mountains, and on the heaths and com-
mons, where every peafant may make ufe of what arms he pleafes,
without controll. ‘They are allowed not only to deftroy the
hurtful beafts, fuch as bears, goupes, wolves, foxes, vielfras,
badgers, wild-cats; martens, ermines, &c. the fkins of which
alone, reward them well for their trouble ; but alfo the moffen-
five creatures, fuch as the elk-deer, the rein-deer, harts, and
hates; and alfo growle, mountain-cocks; francolins, partridges,
&c. which are carried to market in the winter in great quantities
in fledges. The beft mark{men live in the mountains, and ftill
in fome places, ufe bows, as they did in ancient times, efpecially
to kill thofe creatures, whofe fkins are valuable, for they are not
damaged by the flat-arrows. But they chiefly make ufe of fire-
arms, and the country-fellows can {hoot pretty exactly at a great
diftance, which qualifies them in time of war, to lie in defiles
and to annoy the enemy greatly. In ancient times, hunting and
fhooting, were the Norwegians chief fupport, which may be con-
cluded by this. particular, they paid their taxes in many places in
hides and fkins, which gave rife to thofe words that are fill in
ufe in the Norwegian matrikul. In the fragment publifhed by
John Spelman, which is fuppofed to be eight hundred years old,
called Pariplus Otheri, it is there illuftrated in § 7. “ Unufquifque
reddit fecundum facultates fuas; ditiffimus communiter reddit
quindecim martium pelles, cervorum rangiferorum quingue, urfi
unam, ac decem modios plumarum, cum tunica e pellibus urfinis
et lutrinis, atque duobus infuper funibus nauticis, quorum uter-
que fit fexaginta ulnas longus, alter e balenarum, ¢ phocaruny alter

* In this fenfe, we fhould not look upon this as a fuperftitious prognoitication by
the flight of birds, as fome do. Wi Si. autem. exorta tempeftate navis in. altum coge-
retur, incertique effent quorfum iter capiendum, aves emittebant, ex quarum volatu
de itinere judicium ferebant, eafque fequebantur. Exemplum eft in Landnama Saga
& Edda, mythol. fab. 34. conf. Jon. Rami Ulyffes & Othinus unus & idem, cap. il. ;

-p--71. quod. alii ruditati populi tribuunt, ad auguria tamen rectius refert.’’ Bartho-

Jin in antiquitat. Dan. lib. i. cap. ix. p. 476. Joh. Chriftoph. Cleffelius in antiquitar.
Germanor. feptentrional. lL. 10, § 4. p. 359.. .

Parrill. Cie Shi ae | tie pei a re

286

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY.

corio confeétus,” that is, every périon gives according to his abi-
lities, the richeft people generally give fifteen fkins of the mar-
tin, five of rein-deer, one bear’s {kin, and ten bufhels of feathers,
with a jacket made of bears and otters-{kin, and two cables;
each fixty ells long, one made of whales-fkin, the other of the
fkin of fea-calves. | nf

The taxes which the F inlaplanders, or the mountain Fins pay to
the king’s receiver confift, to this day, of fkins. Thefe Finlanders
are quite a diftinét nation from the N: orwegians, and they do not
only inhabit the north-fide of the mountains, but likewife the
fouth-fide, and particularly thofe rocks, that part Sweden and
Norway : they alfo live in the woods, and on the barren tops of the
mountains. They are good markfmen, and live partly by. hunt-
ing, and partly by cutting down the woods, clearing the ground,
and fowing rye, from which they are called Rye-Finlanders. They

~ do their country a good deal of damage by this practice, for

many fine woods are deftroyed by them, and the overfeers con-
nive at it for a {mall bribe. Thofe that get their living by
hunting, do -lefs hurt to the community, only that way of life
makes their habitations unfettled, and their fupplies uncertain ;
and in their diftrefs they fometimes of a fudden fall upon the

farmers, and partly by threats, and partly by begging, oblige them

to relieve their neceflities. In time of war they are employed
as guides, and fometimes as {pies and {couts, for they will find a
way, or make one, thro’ the wildeft and thickeft woods, and al-
moft impaffable mountains, and generally a fhort one. Thefe
people feem to me to be, in this country, fomething like the
Morlak nation, which wanders about the Dalmatian moun-
tains. ‘They feldom forfake the tops of the rocks, and in time
of war are very ferviceable to the Venetians. They live chiefly
by hunting ; but I don’t know whether they are looked upon in

“as defpicable a light by the Dalmatians, as the Finlanders are by

the Norwegians, who command them like flaves, and treat them
with fuch contempt, as in other countries the people do the
Jews*. I have already treated of bird-catching, and how it is

caving | prac-

* In former times, and before they forfook their original home by the Bothnic
gulph, the Fins lived then in contempt and poverty, according to the words of Ta-
citus de mor. Germanor. ‘‘ Fennis mira feritas, faeda paupertas, non arma, non zqui,

non penates, victui herba, veftitui pelles, cubile humus. Sola in fagittis-fpes, quas
: inopia

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. be 28%

practifed, particularly by the inhabitants of N ordland, at the
hazard of their lives, in another place.

Looe Me, ais Mia
Having enumerated the employments and occupations of the Nobility.

commonality among the Norwegians, which conftitutes the bulk
of the nation, I fhall now treat of the nobility of Norway.
There are at prefent but few of this clafs left, for which this
-reafon may be afligned, that a nobleman’s eftate has not the pri-
viledges belonging to the demefne of the nobility, longer than it
is inhabited by the lord in perfon. Formerly the nobility were
very powerful here, and confifted of dukes, jarler, and herzer, —
that is, earls and barons *. Their merits and atchievements may
be feen in the the Norwegian Hird. Skraa, or Hof, ret. cap. vii.
& feq, Jens Dolmer, who “publifhed this work, which. notwith-
ftanding its antiquity, is very intelligible, fays in his dedication
of it to king Frederic third, ‘“‘ a more magnificent and numerous
court was not in thofe times in any kingdom ; then the king with
his courtiers and retinue, could receive the unexpected invafions,
and fecret attacks of his enemies; or meeting them openly in

the field,
“¢ They bravely conquer’d, or they bravely died.”

Thus the valiant king Hagen Adelfteen and his noblefle routed
the fons of Erich Blodox. In thofe days every courtier gave proofs
of their fidelity to their king, of courage, valour towards their
enemies, good-manners and civility toward their equals, and af-
fability towards their inferiors.” So far the faid Dolmer.

Though my plan does not require it, yet it may not be thought
_ impertinent or fuperfluous in this place, to enquire into a fubje@

inopia ferri offibus afperant. ~ Idemque venatus Viros pariter ac faeminas alit.” The
Boyede Fins in Nordland, live fomething better, and have a more certain livelihood;
but ftill keep up their cuttoms and language, though they likewife talk the Norwe-
gian dialect.

* Concerning the extinction of thofe titles, Andr. Buffeus fays, in notis ad Arii
Polyhiftor Shecas cap. ll. p. 12. Hic obiter notandum, rezem Norvegiz Haconem
A. C1308. Comitum, baronumaue titulos, intra regnum “faum abropiffe folis re-
gum filiis comitibufque Orcadenfibus eorum uufu permiffo, tefte Thorm. Torfxo
hiftoria Orcad. lib. ii, ad memoratum annum.” The Jaft-mentioned author alfo
{peaks of it in hift. Norv. p. iv. ]. xvi. c. xii. p. 366, and fays the king ordered, that
all thoie honorary titles fhould be changed to a general one, viz. Piette. dicitur circa
hec tempora rex magnus, titulos procerum henoratios immutafie: fatrapas, barones,
= equites, utroique communi dominorum vocabulo.nominibus preefixo appellari ju-

ens,

3 ‘ that

288

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWA4Y

that is ob{cure and little known, I mean the origin of all the an-
cient and noble families in N orway. I {hall give an account of
thefe, as far as their names and a@ions are recorded, either in
chronicles, ancient writings, patents, &c. I have given myfelf
fome trouble to pick out thofe, that by ftri& examination, are.
found to be what we call Giev, or good ancient nobility, which
are now extinét, or degenerated to peafants. The names of thefe
families are as follow: | a
Akeleye, Alfsfon, Arildfon, Aflakffon, Auftrat, Baad, Baardf-
fon, Bakke, Bilt, Bing, Biornfon, Blik, Bolt, Bos, Brat, Brim
ften, Brufe, Budde, Darre, Doka, Drotning, Dufa, Egilffon,
Endritfion, Erikffon, Erlingffon, Findffon, Flida, Frille, Gaas,
Galde or Galle, Galtung, Gifke or Gifkio, Giordffon, Green,
Griis, Grot, Guldbrandffon, Gunnarffon, Gultko, Gyldenhorn,
Hak, Halvorflon, Haraldflon, Hierne, Jonfion, Kakal, Kallis,
Kane, Kold, Koppe, Krekidans, Kroko, Krukow, Kyr, Lauden,
Lep, Liodhorn, Lior, Medalby, Mok, Nelffon, Ormffon, Orn-
ing, Ottefion, Pederffon, Philipflon, Plit, Raudi or Rod, Remp,
Ro, Sigvortfon, Skaktavel, Skancke, Skialdarbrand, Skreiding,

Smor, Staffenflon, Stenveg, Steiper, Stumpe, Svarte, Sobidrn,

Sollerfion, Teift, Tordffon, Torgerfion, Torp, Torftenffon, Va-
gakal, Verdal, Vikingffon, and perhaps many more that I have
not been able to find out. | iSwatng

- Since the time of Frideric I. when the old N orwegian nobility,
according to Huitfeld’s account, ufed to be called away, many
Danifh families, on account of civil employments, places in the
army, and other occafions, were fent to N orway, tho’ very few
of them are left; and to that clafs belong the following families :
Bagger, Benkeftokker, Bielker, Bilder, Brokenhufer, Frifer, Hol-
ker, Hoger, Huitfelder, Jernskegger, Krabber, Krager, Krufer,
Lindenover, Lunger, Lyftruper, Rofenkrantzer, Sehefteder, Totter,
Walkendorfer, Uggeruper. Of the nobility of other countries,
efpecially Germans, French, and Scotch, there are fome’come in,

and fome full refide there, as Ahnen, Barklay, Butler, Cicignon,

Coucheron, Crequi, Cromarti, Ferry, Flemming, Kleinov, Laut-
zou, Lutzov; Marfchall, Movat, Often, Reichwein, Richelieu,
Schak, Sincler, Storm, Wedel. |

And fince the fovereignty of Denmark, fome Norwegian fa-
milies, by his majefty’s favour, have been raifed to the dignity :
: | F par

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY 289
‘and are Adelaet, Blixencrotie, Blixenfkiold, Hufmand, Knagen-
hielm, Lillienpalm, Lillienfkiold, Lovetihielm, Lovenfkiold, Lo-
venftierne, Rofencrone, Stockfleth, Svanenhielin, Sundt, Torden-
fkiold, Tordenftierne, not a new title, but received anno 1733.
Tonfberg, Wernefkiold, Weffel, Ulrichfdal.

As for the firft-mentioned ancient Norwegian families, fome of
which are ftill left in different provirices, it is remarkable, that
though moft of them have begun to live like other peafants, as
to drefs, diet, and appearance, yet they carefully pick up all
the intelligence they can get by tradition, &c. of their pedigree, .
and publifh it *. This they particularly do at fome of their fu-
nerals; for the whole pedigree is generally traced in their funeral
fermons. And the efcutcheons are preferved in fome of theit
houfes as a mark of diftinétion. In others, where they have
old-fafhioned windows, the panes of glafs are ftained with their
coats of arms, which is but a frail monument of their nobility.
In another place I have obferved there are ‘many peafants, that by
report are faid to be defcended from noble families, and even
fome from the royal-line, who are careful in marrying their chil-

dren to their equals in birth and blood +.
SECT. VI.

és

Exclufive of thefe foibles, every freeholder in Norway has vanity Tic tight of
enough to think himfelf as good as noble by Odel, or right of eal
inheritance. ‘This confifts in having, from time immemorial, the '
Jus primogeniture united with the Jus reluitionis, or the right
of primogeniture and power of redemption, which in this coun-
try has always taken place.

There are feveral peafants who now inhabit the houfe, which
they can make appear their anceftors pofieffed, and inhabited for
three or four hundred years before them. According’ to. the
Norwegian-law (which in this, and other points, greatly differs

* In the year 1713, when 5000 Norwegian foldiers were fent to Denmark, Ge-
neral Budde, colonel of a Tronheim regiment, told the commanding-officer, M. Huf-
mand, that in his battallion he had two country-fellows that were defcended from
‘one of the ancient Norwegian kings. ‘* Their faces (adds he) and mein diftinouith
them fo remarkably that your Excellence can find them out yourfelf.” The general
tried the experiment, and difcovered the two fellows amoneft feveral hundreds.
One of them died a ferjeant at the fiege of Stralfund.

‘+ Of the privilege granted the Norwegian nobility by Chriftian IV. anno 191,

fee the Danifh Magazine, Tom. ili. p. 113. and alfo by king Frederic III. ‘anno
1648, ibid. p. 368. : us5

Parr ILI. ae ae 3 from

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWUY

from the Danifh,) * no odels-gods, . or freehold, cari be alienated
by fale, or any other way whatfoever| from him, that cam make it
appear, that he has the beft» title to it, by. being the right heir,
or odels-mand. If he has it not in his power to redeem it, then
he muft declare every tenth year at the: feffions, that the want of
money is the only reafon; and. if he furmounts that dificulty, or,
if he, or his heirs, to the fecond, or third. generation be able to
redeem it, then he that inhabits it who js only a. poflefior -pro
tempore, muft turn out direétly, and give up the premifes to, the
odels-mand +. , For this reafon, they keepa’ ftri@ account. of
their pedigree, and formerly about midfummer, every family ufed
to meet together and make themfelves merry, and if any of their
kindred had deceafed fince their laft meeting, they marked his name
in the tal-ftockprovided for that purpote.. When king Harald
Haarfager, in the eleventh century made himfelf fovereign lord of
all Norway, and {upprefled all the petty kings; his power ex.
tended likewife to the Odels-bonden, and they were obliged to
pay him a tax, which was without doubt, the origin of the Odels-

fkat, or taf, which is ftill impofed upon them, though kine Hagen

Adalfteen, afterwards promifed that it fhould -be taken off. . By
this we may conclude that they are miftaken, who think that the
odels-right was not inftituted till the time of the crufades, and took
its rife, from a certain N orwegian having permiflion on his return
from the holy land, to reclaim his patrimony which was taken
from him during his abfence. According to the old law, called
odels balken, thirty years pofleffion was required to eftablith the
Odel’s-right; ¢ and then this right could never be forfeited to the
crown unlefs by treafon or felony. This Odels-right. is prefers
able to that of the fele-eyers, or freeholders in Denmark, not only
becaufe it is better fecured to their families by the right of re-
demption; but becaufe they poflefs it with all the privileges which

* The,real fignification of the word Odel implies real property, according to Joh.
Gramm, in his differtation upon the word Herremand; < ut ad Adeibonde redeamus,
is non alius quam locuples et copiofus colonus aut fundi poflefor. Schefferus autu-
mat ab Adel et Odel oriundum effe, quod proprietatem omnimodam, {cilicet ab Odh
proprietas, et All totum omne denotavit, atque Adelbonde efle eum qui haberet Odel,
hoc eft proprium et 4 majoribus per hzereditatem acquifitum poffidebat fundum,
Vide Acta Societatis, Reg. Hafn. T’ ii. p. 270. | ry denen

What there is elfe to be obferved by putting it up, or lengthening the time for
redemption, is to bé feen in Do&. Frid. Chrift. Sevel inaugural. differtatio de proro-
gatione termini retrahendi bona gentilitia in Norvegia, Written in the year 1749.

t The law now requires but twenty years. ar |
ate . 2s I =! a

NATURAL HISTORY of VORWAY. 261

a nobleman has in Denmark; for the Norwegians Odelfgaard, or
freehold is only fubje& to the crown. Whether this Odels-right 5, sortant
be to the advantage, or difadvantage of the country, is a queftion *"™
that cannot be eafily refolved. However, we may fay of this as
of. moeft human inftitutions, which are always imperfect, that it
may produce both good and bad confequences. It has this good
effea, that it fixes the peafant’s affeftions on his native place, with
hopes of keeping his little patrimony in his family, and confe-
‘quently, improves with pleafure thofe poffeflions which he looks
upon to be fo ftrongly fecured to him. It likewife induces many
~ a peafant’s fon, who fees the poffeffion that muft one day devolve
to him, to keep near at hand, with hopes of enjoying and im-
proving it by his induftry. On the contrary, when it muft. be
fold to a ftranger, it never fetches its value; becaufe the buyer
poffeffes it with a great uncertainty, and does little to improve _
- the ground that cannot properly be call’d his own, according to.
the words of the poet. | Kuh oak aPOe OT

Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves.” ed 63

However, one very great evil arifes from this odels-right,
namely, many an undutiful and wicked fon, becaufe he is the
eldeft, and depends on his odels-right, which nothing can affect,
behaves extremely ill, not only toa deferving mother-in-law after
the death of his father, but alfo to his own parents. This might
- certainly be remedied, without infringing the odels-right, where

there are younger children of a better difpofition, and more de-
ee of the inheritance. By this means, great fins againft the
aw of nature might be prevented, if the legiflature would think
fit to det proper reftrictions to the odels-right. But this extends
beyond the bounds of my fubje@, which does not allow me to
introduce any thing foreign to a Natural Hiftory. I fhall there-
fore willingly leave this point to be difcuffed by others, who are
more converiant and experienced in thofe affairs,

THE END.

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Direction for tie Binder in placing rie ape

1 AER BEB aR

————— “The - map of Norwa
potagre Dee VE ept Tage P Y>

1 Mountain of the feven fitters,

Tag” ~The rock of Torge-Hatten,

The mountain near Stene-Sund,
4 A dangerous way under the mountain F ilefield,
5 A plan of Bings Foffen,
-6 Hay and corn-harveft,
7 Stur-grafs, &c,
{ 8 Tegebet, &c.
“9 Sea-trees, N° #, 2, 3, -
to Seastrees, N° 4, 5, 6, 75
ar Sea-trees, N° 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12,

>

12 Corals of evel kinds,

13 Stones and cryftals,
44 The mines of pure filver,
te 8 ag 5 an BA
rg The elk, &c. |

eg The fea-horfe, &c.

The manner of fowling,

we The Haw-heft, &c.

19 The Godwill, &c.

20, 21, 22, Of ditties:

23 Of mufcles and fhells,

24 Various kinds of fea-{nails,
26 The prickly crab, &c,

26 The ftar-fith, &c.

27 The great fea-ferpent, |

28 The drefs of ue boors in Norway,

GENERAL INDEX

OF

The Matrers contain’d in the

-

NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY.

‘The Numericat Letrers denote the Part, the Figures the Pacss.

A,

AL, the Eel, Anguilla, IL. 107.
A AAbEQuaBBE, the Lamprey, I. 108.
Aarruct, Urogallus, or Tetrao Minor, the
__ Growfe defcribed, II. 64.
Aaski@r-niot, the Gurnard a fith, II. 108.
AwBoRRE, the Perch, II. 108. — )
AccipENT, unhappy and fingular, an account

of, I, GOT by gi :
Acates, of feveral kinds found in Norway,
at ae
Fishes a particular account of, as
practifed in Norway, I. 101, & feqg.
Arr varies much in different parts of Nor-
AGE Wak Hire oth AO cle dicen thud ict .
‘AxeErRLog, a bird, II. 65.
AKER-RIXE, or Wag-tail, II, Oar ra eck
Axx, a bird peet#iar to Norway, II. 66.
Auiixe, the Jack-daw, Monedula, II. 6,.
Attu, found in abundance in Norway, I.
pee ..F guulsaooks ty:shsosib -
Amazontan Republic in the North,. IL. 223.
Ametuists found in Norway, -Iy 172...
Amiantuus, or Afbeftos idefcribed, I. 168.
Ufed for wick in lamps, ibid. .Method.of
preparing f{tone-filk from it, ibid. and 169.
A rock of if 89.) no. 903.40 novulaliib
Ampuissana, a Serpent;with two, heads, JI.
RR mon beegxd rq003 to riijaapO
Anos RSON : his deftription of.Jeeland, I, yr.
An ingenious naturalift, 149... : ;
Antiquity, a remarkable piece of in the nar-
.-row pafs of Nacroc,-I...58,. Note,
Ants, with and without.wings, IL, 484, ..
ANT HLLocKS.;..3,refin found in, them, but
‘Tot ART LI: re. Ie ;

little inferior to the oriental, call’d. Norfk-
Virak, IL. 49... ac teattws
ArBuTHNoT, |Dr, his treatife of the effects. of
air, al. iggy - Noteayet “es n
Asers, an Afiatic: people . fettled .in Norway,
II. 223. Probably expelled out of Afia by
Pompey, ibid. : |
ASKE-SMITTEL, a balfam well known in Nor=
Ways, k- F8GRey obely Ge -ohesta ra;
Avrora Borgatrs and fea-lights, i. 4. Cap-
tain Heitman’s fentiments concerning them,
5, & feq. The author’s opinion concerning -
the northern light, 8, & feqa.
AvuTHoR: his account of. the: fources from
whence-he drew the materials of this work,
I. Pref, XI, & feqq. al

B.

Bapcer, Brock or Greving, II. 28...

Baxiye-stone, I, £966::8457 "5 ven x4

Barey, produced in Norway, J. 165. Af-
firmed. ,by fome to degenerate. into, Oats,
106. . Biel -

Brar,, Biorn: two; forts of ,Bears, II. 12,
Particular properties of the, Bear; 1 3. Dan-
gerous time of meeting it, ibid. Knows a
pregnant woman, and will ftrive to get, the

» foetus, ibid. Its manner.of feeding and at-
tacking its prey, 14. Will not touch a
dead carcafe, ibid. Has:neyer-been known

/,to hurt a child,: ibid..- Its prudence and-dif-

cretion, 15. Lies the whole winter in a re-
treat, without food or water, . 16.

BEAR-FISH; Fifk-biorn, a fea infect; Il. 50.

Beayer, Bevar, Caftor, 11..26. .)Its wonder

ful contrivance in building,. ibidy:& '2.73,
FoF ref . Bees,

[ so eS.

Bers, Beer, don’t breed in Norway, 1. 47.
Brreties, Skarnbaffer, II. 48.
Brrecyire, the Rock-fith, IL. 109.
Brroen, Cityvof,; in no danger of a land-
force, I. 63. Fortified with two caftles,
ibid. The moft unhealthful fpot in Nor-
way, II. 263. a

BerGRrap, anpextraordi
defcrtbéd , “L.'60, 64+ |

BERG-uUGLE, a fmall bird, II. 68.

Berries, wholefome and palatable in Nor-
way, I. 132, & feqq. Many forts peculiar
to that country, 133.

BreLLtanps-Brog, a famous bridge, being
the moft curious piece of archite€ture in
Norway, II. 134. A high cafeade near it,
ibid. |

Brrps, an alphabetical lift of thofe of Nor-
way, in the Norwegian language, whether
land, fea or fhore birds, II. 57.

BirKE-DAHL, a fen in Norway that has a
{trong petrifying quality, I. 89.

Biaas-Kaab, the blue fith, NH! 109.

BLack-DEATH, an epidemical diftemper, I. 24.

Brack-.oAm like Indian ink found in Nor-
way, I. 205.

BLANKENSTEEN, a fea fifth, Hl rog.

BLecK-SPRUTTA, Sepia, the-Ink-fifh or fea
enat, Il. 177. Defcribed, ibid. & 178.
Its uncommon fhape and qualities; 179.

Bierce, the Bleak, II. 10g.

Bive coLour found in Norway, I. 205.

Boc-FinKxe} or Brambling afmall bird, II. 68.

Bones mollified, I. 128, 129... )

Bortom of the fea full of inequalities, I. 67.

Boucer and-Comandine, Meffieurs, their ob-
f{ervations on a mountain in Peru, I. 26.
Note. !

Boyrz, Mr. Robert : his inftructions for. tra-
velling with advantage, I’ 28. Note.

Brasen, the Bream, Brama, II. roo.

Breap, generally made of Oats in Norway,
Il. 268. Made of the bark of the fir-tree
in time of fearcity, ibid.

Bripces, not ftrongly ‘ built:in’ Norway, I.
8, 59. Many of a‘furprifing conftruction
ahere, 95-° A Bridge‘ of 1000 paces long at
Sunde, ibid. _ Os

Baicpe, a large fith of the whale or porpoife

“kind; TE‘re9?"

Brisvinc, Encraficholus, the Anchovy, II. tog.

Brosmer, a fea fith, IR a10.0

Brown, ‘Sir’ Thémias ‘his “vulgar errors; ig

ii Lggeeys See Be rep & ey ig 3 , 3 .

Bae oA Or RA, a bird, Il, 68. -

Bue-nuMMeER, “a fort: of fhell-fith deferibed,

“ote 6RiHGgeoy Idi eit “war

Burpye, a’ maid fervant’ to look after the

‘Rows; TEPOG AM > ee ate x

Burron, Mr.-agrees with Burnet, I> 52. Note.
And swith our author, with regard to petri-

nary/rfatural accident

fied reptiles, 55. His account of fiffurés
in the rocks, 56. ;

BurTerriizs of various colours, II. ve, ioe

curious fort found in Norway, ibid.
C.

Cataract in..Norway. faid.to have been
Prete ‘ufe of for the execution. of ‘traitors,
EDk9 52 y 2 me Mas

CATERPILLERS, a fmall fort of, found in

houfes called Mol, II. 47. Great variety
of them in Norway, ibid.

eae both tame and wild, found in Norway,

8

rg ane ih made of Sturgeon’s roe; Ti. Er3.
Method of making it of the roe of Mac-
karel, ibid... .<

‘Cavitigs, deep and long in mountains, like

fecret paflages, I. 47, 8 feqq.
CrLto-Scyruians, the firft inhabitants of
Norway, II. 222, driven out of Norway
_by the Afers, or followers of Othin, .ibid,
Settled partly in Finland and Lapland, ibid,
Anciently called Keltrings, 224,
CenTinets died on their pofts in France by
the feverity of the weather in 1740, II. 99.
Centipes, Tufind-been, I]. 41... , 2
Cuatcepony found in great quantities in Nor-
way; 1. 173. Glittering angular grains of
- it, about*twice the bignefs of a pea, ibid. -
CuarLevorx, P. a learned’ Jefuit: his ac-
count of a certain people in America, fup-
pofed by the author to be defcended from a
northern colony,’ TI. 234.00) «04
ae in the {now dangerous to travellers,
Greases tears the moft healthful among
the trading towns in Norway, II. 261. Rea-
fon affigned, ibid. A terrible fire there in
ghd “PIMA CrS mie ee OT eke nuke 0 ake
Cray, both yellow and blue, found in Nor-
Waa Te 20.) . MSR! priest eee i“
CiusTER-worm, Drac-Fa@, an infeé peculiar
to Norway, II. 41,42." Probably known
Son junrevimrentindy age PS ets, esta eN
Coau-mtnzs, in Norway, efpecially: in the
diocefe of AccEruuus, I. 39. ~~
Coasts of Norway defctibed, I. 66, 67. ~~
Corp, moft fevere in the eaft part of Norway,
— T. 7. Method of providing againft it, 18.
ConcH# ANATIFERA, what, II]. 52. ~
Conjecture of the author concerning’ the
_ diffolution of the earth; I. g2.° ~*~ * |
Coppermine ‘défcribed;- I. 192) & ‘féqq.
Quantity of copper exported trom Norwa
-\ for feveral yeats, “I. 1194, 195. Tron tranf=
muted into copper, 195.
Corats, northern,~ defcribedy I. 157, & feqq.
The author’s collection of Corals, 158, 159.
CormoranT,: ot Séea-raven, If. gi.
‘Corn produced i great quantities in nape
: 98.

an ey

I. 98. Grows very thick there, 102. Ripe
in Lapland in 58 days from the fowing-
time, IO.

Coruscation of the Sea-water by night,
caufed by certain Animalcula, I. 74, 75.

Cows, of a fmall fize in Norway, I. ro8.
Kept in great numbers by the Peafants, ibid.
Live upon Cods-heads and Fifh-bones in
fome places, II.°5. Feed upon the bones
of their own fpecies, ibid. Peafants give
them a little falt once a day; 6.

Crags, Cancri. marini, of various forts, de-
{cribed, II. 175, & feqq. |
CrystTat found in great quantities in Norway,
I. 169: Several curious pieces of+it in the
author’s poflefiion, 170. Mother of cryftal,

171. Formation of it, ibid.

_ Cumin grows wild in Norway, I. 114.

4

TOMER inte. PDR as rh
‘Doc, remarkable fidelity of, Io112.

D.

Danes incorporated with the Norwegians fince
the union of Colmar, Il. 237. ‘The terms
of that union, ibid.

Dantizas, Mr. his account of a very re-
markabie ftone, I. 177. .

Dapper, Odoard, his voyage to Africa, I. 26,

Day-1icut and length of day at Bergen, I. 2.
A table of the increafe and decreafe of it for
the horizon of Bergen, 3. |

Deszes, Luke, his authority queftioned by the

author, I. 24. Note, His account of a cloud
called Oes, 35. Note... His ftrange account
of a frefh-water lake, 76. Note. Three
Vortices in Feroe defcribed by him, 79, &
feqq. His account of the increafe of corn,
109. Note. Relates that the fheep eat one
another’s wool when covered with fnow, II.
6. His account of the ftrange method of
' taking the Sea-fowl, .60; & feqq.
Deer, almoft deftroyed by the wolves in Ofter-
landet,: I: 9. Their manner of croffing
broad lakes or rivers, ibid. 6 5
Deprus, ‘unfathomable, I. 68.
Deruam, Mr. highly commended by the au-
thor, I. Pref. VI. -His Phyfico-Theology
‘quoted, I) 167 Note, & paflim.:. Referred
to: by the author'to affift. our meditations, 65,
Desacuriers,; Dr. his differtation on electri-
elegy MIMS} gi WiPreMng sis |
Diet of the Norwegians, If. 266, & feqq.
Diseases, an account. of thofe’ that are moft
frequent-in’ Norway, II. 261, & feqq.) —
Diversity of weather \in‘parts contiguous to
each other,:'I, 27. “'Common ‘to Norway
‘' with other mountainous countries, 28../
Dorre-FIELpD, the higheft mountain in Nor-
' way, if not in all Europe, I. 41.\ Com-
puted to be half a Norway mile in perpen-
dicular. height from ‘the level of the:plain,

~

Does trained up to hunt Sea-fowl, Il. 60, Of
feveral kinds in Norway, 8.

DomMm-HERRE, the Coccothraus, a bird with

a melodious voice refembling an organ, II.

6 5 .

te re or Serpent, with feven heads, feen
by the author, II, 37, 38. Is ftill to be
feen at Hamburg, ibid,

Dress of the Norwegians defcribed, II. 2685
& feq. aay
DrosseEL, the Thrufh, Turdus, II. 69. Com-

prehends many fpecies, ibid.
Ducats of Norway~gold ftruck, I.
Spectacle ducats, what,’ ibid.
Shoes eat of feveral forts in Norway,
DysrENDE, i. e, deep courfes defcribed, I. 69.

Kk,

Eacte-Stongs, I]. 176, Why fo called, ibid,
Easy way of travelling upon the lakes and
rivers in Norway during winter, I. 96.
EDDER-pown, fine duck feathers, II. 71.
Epper-FruGL, the wild duck defcribed; II.

70, & feqq. ~

Ecpeg, the Nightingale, Lufcinia, II. 72.

E.ectricity, fuppofed by the author to be
the caufe of the Aurora Borealis, I. ro.

Evx, a kind of deer, defcribed, II, g, to.

E.ve-konce, the Owzel, Merula, H. 72.

ELVEN, a general name for rivers in the old
northern ‘languages, I. go.

ELveritze, a {mall fith, II. rto.

Ene.isu, partial to their own country, IT. 5,
Note. A colony of Englith in Norway,
238. The apoftles or firft inftructors of the
Norwegians in the chriftian Faith, ibid,
Built the firft churches in Norway, ibid.

Erte, a bird defcribed, II. 72.

Ermine, Hermelian, defcribed, II, 24, 25.
Its blood good for the epilepfy, 25. Note.

Esquimavux, a people in. America, fuppofed
to be defcended from the Cambri, who fail’d
to that country under the command’ of
Madoc, II, 236. The author thinks they are
defcended from the Norwegians, 234, 235.

Exorcism, a form of one ufed by the Romifh

‘oclergy, The 33. O |

‘179,

F,

Note. Fucr, fignifies a’ fowl or bird, Frsx a
Fisu, and Frerp a mountain. » E38
FapuLous, account of geefe or ducks -faid to

grow on trees, II. 52. True account of that
phoenomenon that: gave rife’ to it, ibid. &&
feqq. Fabulous accounts of the: mermaid,
186, 187.
Faux, the Falcon, Accipiter; If. 72. Twenty-
‘feven different forts of Falcons, ibid.
Fanter, a fort of ftrolling gipfies in Nor-
way, Il,.225. iT

FER TILITYs

i N DE X.

Fertitity of the foil in Norway, I. 96, &
feqq. Caufe of it, 100.

FIELD-FLAGERS, mountain fqualls or fudden

_ ftorms, I. 33.

Fa ripe in M, Carbiner’s garden at Bergen,

poke at Ta

Ficure, a remarkable one of a ftone on the
mountain Suuku, I. r77, .

Ficurarzp ftones, 1.174, & feqq.

Fisu, Norway plentifully fupplied with freth
and fale water fith, Il. 103. Bred in great
quantities near the north pole, ibid.. Come
annually ‘near the fhore to difcharge. their
{pawn, ibid. Note. Their numbers and pe-
regrination, 104. Love the coldeft waters,
ibid. Fith of prey drive the fmaller and
ufeful fort towards the coaft; by the direéti-
on of providence, ibid. Their order and
divifion, 107, Exfanguineous and teftacious,

\ bon Ox, ra

Fiske-xonc, king of the fifh, II. 110.

Fisk-orn, the fith eagle, II. go. A remark-
able ftory of that bird, ibid.

FLaccer-muus, the bat, II. 73, _

Fiax and hemp grow in Norway, I. 108,

Frieas, Frofk, IH. 48.

Fuizs, large and fmall in great quantities in

Norway, Hl. 47.

FLints, none to be found in Norway, I. 169.

Fiyvs-risx, the flying fith defcribed, II. 111,
112,

Frynper, the Flounder, H. 110, A re-
markable one marked with a crofs, ibid;
& 111.

Foreicners, their miftaken notions concern-
ing the air and climate of Norway, I. 22.

Fossrraup, the Water-wagtail, II. 73.

Fresu-waTers in Norway good and falu-
brious, I. 88. & feqq.

FRost : night froft pernicious in Norway, I. 97,

Fuct-Konce, Regulus, the Wren, Il. 73.

Fyr, the Fir-tree grows almoft every where _

in Norway, I. 141. Is the richeft produce
of that country, ibid. An attempt to fow
...them in England, 143. rhe

G,

Gaas, the Goole, Anfer, I; 73: Wild gecfe

of two forts, ibid, & 74: The order they
obferve in their flight, 74.
Gepbe, a frefh-water fifth, I. 112.
GERMANS carried on a great trade in Nor-
way, IL, 238, 239. Chaftifed. by Frid. IL,
Bit, sods | PP est: 19
Grants among the ancient inhabitants of Nor-
way, II, ZANs of),
GIERTRUDS-FUGL, or Gertrude’s bitd, Ih..75.
Giors, Sander], a fcarce fifth; Il, 112.
Gin-sEn@y) deferibed by -P.odu-Halde, 1:23,
noMote-2ohcis mnillouwh 4 AIT HA I
Grratp, Cambrenfis, his miftake, ‘1. 89

_ Goats and Kids hurtful to trees,

‘Hav-stLe,\a large fea-bird,

Giaamen or Glommen, the largeft river in
all Norway, I. gt.

Guients, the Kite, I. 75.

GNaTs, very numerous in Norway, If. 47.

Il. 7. Too
many of them kept in Norway, ibid. Fre-
quently attack ferpents, ibid. A. certain
field of a poifonous quality to goats and
kids only, Il. 7. Note.

Gos, the Cuckow, II. 5.

GorkyTeEr, a fifh, Il. 112.

Govurs or Loffen, the Lynx, of three forts in
Norway, II. 20. )
Grain of all ‘kinds fown in Norway, I, 104.

Grawazxes, found in Norway, I. 172,
Grass in great abundance in Norway, I. 108,
GrassHoppers, Faare killinger, IL. 45s
GuLp-Lax, the Trout, Trutta, Il. ire.

H,

Flaaz, the Shark, Canis Carcharias, avery €X-
tenfive tribe, II. 113. Several forts defcri-
bed, ibid. & feqq.

Hates, Dr. Experiments in his vegetable fta-_
tics, I. 10. ‘

Fiatocananp, one of the fifh-inhabited pro-
vinces in Norway, I. 85. 1

Flarzs, very common in Norway,. Il. 9.
Change colour in winter, ibid. Catch mic
in the woods like’ cats, ibid. |

Harvest, early in Norway, I. 21. Its diffi-
culties there, 102. Method ufed in Nor-
WEY, Ibid). AY Aalst aE eto!

Hav-aarg, a bird, Il. 75. mol

Hav-nest, a. fea-fowl, U1, 75,76.

Havxssez, Mr, a famous experiment by him,

El deraeayn and Hav-fruen, Mer-man and
Mer-maid, II. 186. Fabulous account, of
them, 186,187, Truth of their’ exiftence,
187. Frequently caught in’ the fea of
Angola, 188.. Particularly defcribed,. ibid.
& feqq. Several of them fen in the north
fea, 190, 191. A) Mer-mani.36 feet long
taken in the Adratic, 192.

called -by. the

Scots, Gentleman, II. 76... den

Heabtn affected by difference of air, II, 26,

Hear, intenfe in Norway in fummer, and
the caufes of it, I. 20, a1.

Fizyerrexs, what, I. 56. =e

Heiroe, a bird» of pafiage, IL 77;

Haire; thesHeron, Ardeas > Il, 772. 4)

HEuLg-ruynpzR, the Turbor, Hypogloftus,

_ ‘T. ar6./:A particular: ftory. of one, 217.

»oManner- of catching it,-ibid. Has no air

smibladders 1£8eow 4 dle ni con B

Heres, medicinal,, a catalogue) of thofe in

oulNorway, from; Ramus,-the; Herbarium Vi-
vum, &c, I. 115. & feqq. Of Norway
adapted te the difeafes. ofthe inhabitants, .125.

FIEscIERs,

EN DE X&

Hescrers; a moveable garden, I. tro,
Hrort, Hans, his letter to the Author, I. 6r,
Note.

Hoec, the Hawk, of three forts, Il. 78.

HocmMan, opinion efpoufed by him, I. 106.
Note.

- Hoes, but few in Norway, H. 8.

Honey-pew, fabulous account concerning it,
Il. 43, 44.

Hops grow in Norway, I. 108.

Horn, many northern mountains fo call’d,
T. 45. Note. And fome in Switzerland,
ibid.

Hoxw-rrsx, the Murzena, a fea-fith, IT. irg.

Horr, a fmall frefh-waicr ith, IL 778.

Horset-Goe, a bird, Il. 77, 78.

Horses, Norwegian, deferibed, Il. 2, 3. The
firft perfon that gave them oats in Norway,
2. Not ufually gelded in Norway, ibid.
Their method of fighting with bears, 3.

Houssz, ftill fubfifting in Norway, in which
king Oluf lodged five nights, above 700
years ago, I. 143.

Houses ftand fo high in Ulland and Nordel,
that the peafants climb up to them by lad-
ders, Ly 58;

Hvat-risu or Qual, thé Whale, Balena, di-
vided into feveral fpecies, II. 118. The
reafon of its growing lefs in fize of late
years, t19. Is God’s inftrument in driving
the Herrings, &c. towards the coaft, ibid.
Its form and fhape, 120. Its food, rat.
Often harafied by other fifth, 122. Smaller
forts of Whales, 123.

Huipiine, the Whiting, Affellus candidus,
Il, 124. Its wonderful property, ibid,
Hounpsricier, thé common Stittle-back, Au-
culeatus minor, Hl. 124, 125. '
Hurricanes and Whirlwinds, I. 34. Call’d
by the Norway peafants Ganfkud, ibid. —
Hyernes, Urban, his obfervation on the co-

Jour of the fea-water, I. 70,

FHyssz, call’d by the Germans Schelfifk, is

very like the Whiting, II. 12s. s

I,

Jasper, a fet of tea-cups of it prefented to

king Frederick TV. I. 173
Icr, in the North-fea, affirmed to be of a blue
colour, Peyrere, I. 71.
IcELAND, great quantities of fith caught
there, II. 104. Note. In great want of
_ wood, ibid.
Jerre, the Francolin, defcribed, HH. 79; 80.
Jervor Virrrras, Gulo, a creature peculiar
to Norway, defcribed, II. 22, 23.
Icerxter, the Sea-Urchin, Echinus Marinus,
and Pomum Marinum, a curious fea ani-
mal, defcribed, II. 170, & feqq;
IcLEGRASs, a noxious root, I. 130,
Icnes ratur, L. 75,
Par? H.

lonzs LamBENTES, caufe of them cdnjec-
tured, I. 75. ef

Jiscarr, Vulpecula mafina, the Sea-fox; If.
125. . |

aa the North Diver, a bird, II. 80. |

InunDATION; a furprifing one of the river
Galen in Notway, I. go. —

Jo-ruci or Jo-Turer, a remarkable bird, II.
St,

Iron, moft abounds in Norway arid Seen,
I. 88. Tinges moft of the waters there,
ibid. Tranfmuted into copper, 195. The
procefs, ibid. Chymical analyfis of iron,
199.

en MINES, 4 lift of thofe in Norway, I.
200, 201.

IsLanps, floating, in feveral lakes, I. g2.

JuBILEE-WEDDING, a remarkable account of,
II. 259.

K,

Karpe, the Carp, Carpio, 3 Hs eg.

Karupse, a frefh-water fifh, II. 125.

Kat Ucre, a kind of Owl, II. 102.

Kra_p, a ftrand bird, Red-fhanks, II. 81, 82:

Kiop-miegs£, the Black-cap, a bird, II. 82.

Knuruane, the Gurnard, II. 1209.

Kogse, of Selhund, the Sea-calf, Phoca, de-
fcribed, II. 125, 126. Manner of taking
and killing the Sea-calves, 126, & feqq.

Konesgere, famous for filver mines, l. 189.
Number of its inhabitants, 190.

Karr, profeffor, his obfervations on the wed-
ther, I. 26. Note. a

Krace, a bird of prey, II. 82.

Kraxen, the largeft creature yet known, II.
210, Delcbed, 211, & feqq. Confirma-
tion of its exiftence, 214, & feqq. The
opinion of floating iflands took its rife from
the Kraken, ibid. Not entirely unknown
to Pliny, 215. Suppofed to be of the Po-
lypus kind, or the Stella arborefcens, 21 ie

Krixkie, a fea bird, II. 82.

Krocke, a frefh-water fith, Il. 129.

Kuriesars, a {mall frefh-water fifth, [1. 129.

Kuztmunp, the golden Salmon, II. 129.

Kutsrrom, aremarkable phznomenon in the
North-fea, I. 84,

L.

Lake, the frefh-water Herring, Marzna, If,
130.

Lakes, the principal in Norway, I. 92. Float-
ing iflands in fome of them, ibid.

Lawnpscapzs very pleafant in Norway, I. 64.

Lance, Ling, or the long Cod-fith, defcribed,

Ti, 130, 131. .

Lancivig, a large fea bird, Il. 83.

Lapis Suitius, or Swine-ftone, a produétion
peculiar to Norway, I, 168. Called Lapis
foetidus, ibid, .

Gggg Lax,

INDEX

Lax, the Salmon, Salmo, II. 131. Its nou-
rifhment, ibid. Its breeding-place, ibid.
Method of catching it, 132. Its averfion
to red colour, ibid. and 139.

iax-Kar, what, IL 133.

Lax-rire, a water fowl, II. 83.

Leap-mines in Norway, I. 201, 202.

Lemmine, Mus Norvegicus, Il. 30.

Leprosy, of three kinds, frequent in Norway,
1262, 263. Deferibed, ibid.

Lsrxe, the Lark, II. 83. 7

Lerrer to the author concerning a particular
fort of ftone, I. 174, 175. |

Linna:us, his curious obfervation, I. 101.
His remarks upon mountain plants, I. 132.

ged of different forts, for fifhing, defcribed-

» 131, 132,

List of the hee quoted in this work, I.
Pref. XXI, & feqq. Of all the nobility of
Norway, II. 288. Of Danith nobility, fet-
tled in Norway, ibid. |

Lizarp, Ogle, or Fire-been, If. 4o.

Loam, fragrant white loam, J. 206. A black
loam like ink, 205. .

Lozsrzrs, method of catching them, IL.
173. Vaft numbers exported from Norway,
and in what manner, ibid,

Loppe, the ftinking Fith, II. 134. A mif-

_chievous Fifh in driving away other Fifhes,
&c. ibid. and 135.

Lom, Colymbus Arcticus, defcribed, II. 83,
& feqq.

Lonceviry, -feveral inftances of, in Norway,
Il. 257, & feqq.

Lunp. Anas arctica, the Pope, defcribed, II.
enn

Lusus eres an abfurdity, I. 54.- Several
pieces of what is fo called found in Nor-
way, I. 184.

Lynx, Goupe, II. 20, |

Lyr or Lyssz, the Piper, probably the fith
call’d Lyra, Il. 135.

M.

~ Maace, Sea-gulls, of various fpecies, II. 87,
Soe

Maar, the Marten, defcribed, IT. 23, 24.

Mack arety Sconiber, If.135, Voracious like

' the Shark, ibid. Melancholy accident oc-
cafioned by Mackarel, 136, Has no air
bladder, and yet fwims very quicls, ibid.

Macnet, or Load-ftone, found in great quan-
tities in Norway, I. 167.

Macnus Otvrsey, king, why called Bare-
fagt,,, IT. 273 —

Marzi, in Winter, drawn over the fteepeft
mountains not far from Bergen, I. 58.
Marste, of feveral kinds, I. 162, & feqq.
Account of thé principal forts, 164, 165.
Mare, no pealant. dares keep one about

Bergen, II. 25 3.

MAaRiznceas, of Ifinelafs, ufed for windows -

in Ruffia, 1. 172.
hp py a fifh of the Mer-maid. fpecies,
1 IQR: .

Marsvin, the Porpoife, defcribed, II, 136.

Marrimire, M. de la, his account of the
copper mines in Norway, 1. 196. & feqa.

Martin, Mr. his defcription of the Weftern
iflands of Scotland, well worth perufing, I.
149.

Mezap, Dr. an extract from his treatife de
imperio folis & lune, &c. 1. 77, Note.
Mecuanic trades not in any repute in Nor-

way, Il. 280. =

Mer-Man. and-Mer-maid, lee Hav-mand,

Mr.z, Norwegian, equal to five or fix Englith
miles, I. 1. Note. - }

Mines, Norwegian, in general, I. 178, 179.
Produce of them doubled in Norway © for
thefe laft hundred years, ibid. A gold
mine difcovered, 179. But foon failed,
ibid. Silver mines in Norway, 180, > &
feqq. Method of difcovering them, V84,
185, Great depth of fome mines, 188,
The mines of Kongfberg defcribed, 189,
190. Copper mines at Roraas, 192, & feqq.
Tron mines 199, & feqq. Lead mines, 201,
202. |

Miners, their drefs, I. 197. Their revels
and dances, 198.

Mixture, wonderful, in the mountains of
Norway, I. 53.

Move, Vond, Lalpa, Il. 28,

Morr, fee Sey.

MoskoEsTRom, a remarkable Phenomenon,

- IT, 9x 8 feqg.

Moss, Norway over-run with it, I. 147. Se-
veral forts of it, Ibid. Treated of particular-
ly by Buxbaum, ibid. Note. |

Morives of the Author for publifhing this
work, I. Pref. I. & feqq. :

Mountains of two forts in Norway, I. 40.
the greateft part of that country cover’d
with them, ibid,

Moun tain-stoves defcribed, I. 44.

Mouse, Muus, Mus, white, with red eyes,
Hy 2-9.

Mus cite and the champignons of feyeral
forts found in Norway, I, 148.

Mustincer, Cockles, Pectuncli, II, 164.

N.

NaApgr, a fort of Turnip, of a very large fize,
Il. 114, Inftance of one weighing 24
pounds, ibid.

Natvake, afmall bird; II. 88. ;

NespeE-stup, the Needle-fith, IH. 138, 139,

NeweEn-ocen, the Lamprey, I]. 129,

NiGHT-RAVEN, Nyéticorax, II. gu.

Nosiuity, antient, of Norway, a lift of, I.

288. Danifh fettled there, ibid.
Ff = 5 NoppDeE -

EE ooo

IN DE X.

Noppe Sxicer, a bird, Il. 88.

Norpsere, Mr. an hiftorian of gteat credit,
I. 19. Cenfured by the author, ibid.

Noruvat, Unicornu marinum, the Uni-
corn fifh, II. 137, 138.

Norway, its extent, latitude and climate, I.

a, 2. Milder winters there than could be
expected in that climate, 13. Produces figs,
cherries, and othér fruit, 22. “Rofes and
other flowers common there, ibid. Produ-
ces a great quantity of corn, 98. Affords
beautiful landfcapes, 64. More fruitful than
foreigners imagine, 99. Surpafles many
countries in pafturage ahd meadows, 108.
Propereft plate toruie -fudy <f Wthyology,
li. ros. Firft inhabitants of Norway, 222.
Colonies of ftrangers there, 237. Seldom
vifited by foreigners, 1.-Pref. 1X. Sur-
pafies moft countries in Singularia Nature,
ibid. Cuftoms of Norway totally different
from thofe of Denmark, 1. Pref. X.-

NORWEGIANS, antient, driven from their coun-
try before the bitth of Chrift, I]. 223: Had
particular kings of their own after they were
expelled, 226. Modern Norwegians a mix-
ture of Celt# and Afers, ibid. Send feveral
colonies into various countries, 226, & feq.
Sail to America long before the Spaniards,
227. An account of feveral expeditions
thither, 228, & feqq. Defcendants of a
Norwegian colony, probably ftill to be
found there, 134, 135. The Norwegians
genius, flature and features, 240, 241.
Their ftrength and hardinefs, 242, 243.
Their complexion, 243; 244. Caufe of it,

_ ibid. Qualities of their itd, 245, 246.
Ingenuity, ibid, & feq. Their bodily exer-
cifes, 246, & feq. Their genius for trade
and navigation, 286. Send their youth
abroad for education, ibid. Many of them
fpend half their timé at fea, 283. Their
funeral céremonies; 247. Note. Their ca-

- pacity for literature, 248; 249. ‘Their au-
thors of note, 249. Their politenéfs and
fidelity, 250. “Their valour and courage,
2451, 242. Their diet, 266, & feqq. Sub-
ject to quarrels and broils, 253, 254. Their
ambition commendable, 254. Their vani-
ty, ibid, & 255. Fond: of imitatine ‘the
English, ibid. ‘Theif eeherofity’ and hof-
pitality to ftrangers; ibid. & 256. Their
chearfulnefs and good nature, ibid. Their
health and long life, ibid. Their drefs,
272, & feqq. . Their habitations and build-
ing, 275. ‘Their various occupations, 279,

feqq

Norwings-Prasy a bird; defcribed, II. 88.
oe tee
Oars produced ii Notway, 1. 106. The grain
moft in ufé there, ibid. Firft given to horfes
‘in Norway, I. 2.

OcéupaTions, various, of the Norwegians’
AT, ogy 8 Jeqq:

Opeu-Ricur explained, If. 289, & feqq.

Oxrsk aL, the Mufcle, the Pearl-mufcle, II.
165. Rivers in which they are chiefly found,
ibid. - Farther account of the Pearl-mufcle,
166, 167.

Ocye1a, fuppofed to be the ifland Hinde, I.
86. .

Oxer, very good found in Norway, I. 205,

Oxave, St. his Serpent defcribed, I. 54.

Oxavus Datin, his Hiftory of Sweden, I. 41.

Oxtaus Macnus, his account of a rock in
Norway, I. 41. Note. Of the mountains,
63. His opinion of the Norway chryftals,
172. His account of Chalcedony, 173. Of
Jalper, ibid Says fome fort of mice are
poifonous, II. 29. His defcription of the
Lemming, &c. II. 30,

Our Kyrre, king, founds the city of Ber-

~ gen, II. 238. Grants the Enelifh great
privileges, which they enjoyed near 300
years, ibid. and 279.

OpsTA-GANc, an ancient method of weaving
coarfe cloth, II. 173.

Oricrn of mountains, rocks and ftones, I. 56.

Orn, the Eagle, Aquila, II. 89. Said to
carry away young children, ibid. This con-
firmed by Mr. Ray ‘and Anderfon, ibid.

Orte, the Salmon-trout, II. 139, 140.

Orrer, Odder, Hl. 27. May be tamed when
young, and taught to fifh for its matter, ibid.

Outin, fuppofed to be Ulyfies, I. 85.

Oxen and Cows of a yellowifh colour, and
very {mall in Norway, II. 4. Their flefh
fine-grained, juicy and well tafted, ibid.

Oysrers, of various forts, treated of, II. 162,

& feqq.
2,

ParacELsus, his pompous prediction of a
golden age to the Northern countries, I. 178.

PARTRIDGE. See Ripe.

Parricx, Dr. Simon, a paffage in his works
relating to Norway confuted by the author,
I. 22.

Peas fown in Norway, but in no great quan-
tity, I. 107, Yield 610, for one there,
ibid.

Peasants, Norwegian, chearfully venture their
lives for a fheep or a goat, I. 59. Their
fidelity to their friends, ibid. Bigotted to
ancient cuftoms, 102. Wull not move a
ftone which their fore-fathers fuffered to lie
in any one place, 102. Much improved of
late, 103. ‘Their beft dainties, milk, and
variety of cheefe, 108. Chew Angelica, and
make {nuff of it, 116. ‘Their houfes, 142.
Their drefs, II. 273. Grafing and breed-
ing cattle chief part of their employment,
281. Some of the peafants defcended ies

noble

P Riedy “Re oe

hoble families, and even from. the royal
line, II. 289. .

Pzpioree of the Norwegians traced in their
funeral fermons, II. 2809.

PepsiEs in Norway, I. 160, 161.

Penna Martina, a remarkable Mufcle, de-
{cribed by Dr. Shaw, I. 75.

PERLE-BAND, a Fifh, like a ftring of pearls,
II. 182.

Purasants, none feen in Norway, II. 78.

Puysics, never the author’s chief ftudy, I.
Pref, XI. .

Puysicar knowledge: the utility of it, I Pref.

_ Vv. & feqq :

Puysicians, to be found only in the chief
towns in Norway, J. 24. Are eftablifhed in
thofe cities, with a public falary, ibid. But
one or two at moft at Bergen, ibid.

Pirr, the Trachurus, or Horfe-mackarel, II.

_ 140.

PLacue, an account of it in Norway, II. 365.

Piiny computes the meafure of the higheft

- mountains in the world at 400 ftadia, I. 45.

_ Mentions floating iflands in Italy, g2.

PLow-worm, Muld-oxe, II. Al.

Potrenac, Cardinal, his.obfervation on the
Maramots in his Anti-Lucretius, II. 27. Note.

Pops, Mr. his remark upon the univerfality
of genius, II. 294. Note.

Popz, Innocent VIII. difpenfes with the Nor-
wegian church from ufing wine in the facra-
ment, II. 267.

Porcupine, Pindfwiin, II. 28.

Porpoise, fee Marfvin. |

PRESERVATIVES, againft the cold, I. 19.

Propucez or commodities of Norway enume-
rated, II. 280.

Puur, the Dove, a fmall frefh water fith, II.
140.

Q.

Quasse, fee Aal. |

Quaprupeps of Norway defcribed at large,
II. 1, & feqq.

Quatiry of the air in Norway, with refpect
to ficknefs and health, I. 29.

Quarts, a fort of pyrites or fire-ftone, I. 169,

QueziTs, fee Helle fynder. |

QUENER, an antient people in Nordland, I].
223. | i

Srieaer: none found in Norway, I. 202.

Quiin-ZEnpeER, a fort of wild duck, II. 66.

Quoyas Morroy, a ftrange creature, re-
fembling the human fpecies, defcribed by
Odoard Dapper, II. 188.

R.

Raate, the Sea-carp, II. 140.

Rassits, very few in Norway, Il. 9.
RRace-xntv, the Razor-fith, Novacula, I. 141.
Rains and damps on the Weft fide of Norway,

I. 25. Caufe of them at Bergen, ibid. Fy:
cellently adapted by Providence to the necef:
fities of the country, effecially about Ber-
gen, I. 26,

Ramus, M. his Hiftory of Norway, I. 2.
Computes the length and breadth, ibid,
Says the air in Norway is very healthy, I. 23.
His account of the Mofkoeftrom, I. 78. En-
deavours to prove it to be the Scylla and
Charybdis of the ancients; whither Ulyfies
was driven, I. 85. Yes

Rats, Rotter, of feveral kinds in Norway,
II, 28. Will not live in Nordland and
Helgeland, ibid. Ss

Ravn, the Raves;Corvus, II. gi.

Raz, Mr. his account of a child being carried
away by an eagle, II. 89. Note.

Reaumur, M. his account of Infeés, II, 245
35: | |

Rep-worms, Roe-aet, in prodigious numbers,
fo as to colour the fea, II. so,

REIN-DEER, peculiar to the North country;
II. 9. Will not live any where elfe, ibid.
Remora,.a fmall fith, the vulgar notion of
its {topping a fhip under {ail confuted, II,

217, 218. This more probably occafioned

_ by the Krake, 218. |

Riccioxr; reckons the higheft mountains in
the world to be 512 ftadia in perpendicular
height, I. 45.

Ripz, Partridge, Perdix, of two forts in Nor-
way, II, 91. Change colour three times a
year there, ibid. Manner of taking and ex-
porting them, 92. .

Rivers and Rivuutrs of Norway defcrib’d,

I. 90, & feqq. |

Roads, difficult and dangerous in Norway, I.
58. j

Rocks, and mountains, the inconveniencies
arifing to Norway from fo many of them,
I. 57, & feq. Conveniencies, 6, & feq.

Rop-risk, a fea-water fifh, II. 141.

Rocn-xat, the Square-fifh, Oftracion, de-
{cribed, II. 141, 142.

Roxxe, the Thornback, Raia Clavata, II. 142.

Routin, M. his Phyfique des Enfans, a paffage
from it quoted, II. 105, 106.

Roots, of all kinds, grow in the gardens in
Norway, I. 114. , '

Rose; a common flower in Norway, I. 22.

Ryscxiar, ufed for glafs in Ruffia, I. 172.

- §.

SALT-PANS, in Norway, I. 72. .

SALtT-works, defcribed, I. 203, 204.

Sanp, that of Norway defcribed, I. 37.

Sanp-sTones, I. 165,

SANDTAL, the Lapwing, II. 93.

SANDT 2RNE, a bird, II, 93.

SavorReENn, a fea-bird, II. 93."

Saw-works, or Saw-mills, I, 137.
SCHEUCH-

"s

ie i De Bia

Scneucuzra, Mr. conjectures that the higheft
of the Alps does not exceed 987 ells in
perpendicular height, I. 46.

ScHROEDER, Peter, his letter to the Author,
I. 103.

Sderou? thas have all kind of birds in com-
mon with Norway, II. gr.

Scots, a colony of them in Norway, IT. 238,
239. Still diftinguifhed there by a parti-
cular drefs, ibid.

Scyitia and Charybdis fituated in Norway,
I. 85, & feqq.

Sra, Frefh fprings in the bottom of it, I.
72. Nocturnal corufcations and effulgence

of the fea, 79. & feqq. Caufe of this ef-
fulgence, ibid. Motion or tke Sea by cur-

rents, &c. 76.

Sea-BEAN, Faba Marina, I. 156.

Sra BEAVER, an infect, II, 51.

Sea-caLr, fee Selhund.

SeEA-FOWL, their numbers almoft incredible,
I]. 58. Their general properties, ibid.
Their eges, ibid. Their flefh, 59. Turn
their heads againft the wind in ftormy
weather, ibid. .

Sza-crass of feveral kinds, I. 50.
and benefit, 151.

Its ufe

SEA- MONSTERS, treated of, II. 183, & feqq.

Not mere chimeras, 107.

SEA-NETTLE, the Manzte Urtica Marina,
II. 181, 182.

SEA-SNAKE, Soe Ormen, Serpéns marinus mag-
nus, a wonderful Sea - monfter, II. 195.
Many teftimonies to prove its exiftence,
196, & feqq. Its form and properties,
199, & feqq. Dangerous to the fifhing-
boats, 203. Fifhermen’s method of guard-
ing again{l it, ibid, & 204. Suppofed to
be the Leviathan or Crooked ferpent, men-
tioned in feripture, 206. North-fea its na-
tive place, 208. Account of very large Snakes
or Serpents in other places, 210. One men-
tioned by Pliny, Livy, and Val, Maximus,
ibid.

Sea-sun, or Caput Meduf, a remarkable
fith, Il. £80. Suppofed by fome to be the
{pawn of the Krake, 181.

Sza-TReEEs. J. 152, The ufe of them, ibid.

Their branches obferved to grow four or
five feet in two years, 156,

SEA-WATER, weight of 11, 1. 7o. Its colour,
ibid. Its foftnefs, 71. Not fo falt about
Norway as in warmer climates, ibid, Oily,

yah

Sry, a Sea-fith, II. 145.

SERPENTS, and other venomous creatures, not
found beyond the Temperate Zone, II. 35.
Of feveral forts in Norway, ibid. Singu-
lar incident concerning a Serpent, 36.

SEVEN-SISTERS, a range of mountains of a

fingular appearance, I, 46. -
Part II,

SHARK, fee Haae.

Surep, Norwegian, defcribed, II. 6:

SHRimps, Squilla marina, Il. 177.

SIEBEN-SCHWANTZ, Micro-phoenix, la Grive-
Bohemienne, II. 94.

Six, Albula nobilis, a frefh-water fifh, II.’
143. thy ;

Siiscen, a bird, IT. 94. )

Sip, the Herring, Harengus, I]. 143. Its
food 144. The king of the Herrings,
ibid. Prodigious fhoals of them, ibid. _

SILVER, a piece taken out of the mines in
Norway weighing 560 pounds, and prefer-
ved in the mufeum at Copenhagen, 185.
Quantity of filver exported from Norway
from 1711 to 1734 inclufively, 139.

StvER mines in Norway defcribed, I. 181.

SCADE, the Iviespie, of two or three forts in
Norway, II. 94, 95.

ScaLLE, Alburnus, a frefh-water fith, IT. 149.

Sxkarv, Columbus, the Loon, of three kinds,
Il.” o%2

SKELETON of a Whale found at Tiftedale,
1687, I. 39. Of a man of gigantic fize,
Il. 242.

SKuE, the Black Diver, II. 96.

SLEDGE-CHAISES, drawn by peafants in Nor-
way, I. 42.

SLtow-worm, Slzbe, II. 41.

SwalLs, of feveral forts, Snegle, II. 40.

SNEE-FUGL, the Snow-bird, II. 96.

SNEE-KREED, Or SNEE-FOND, Snow-falls, very
dangerous in Norway, I. 30. Not unknown
in Switzerland, ibid. Defcribed by the poet
Claudian, ibid. Note.

SneGLe, Sea-{nails, Cochlea, II. 167.

Sneppe, the Snipe, Scolopax, II. 96.

Snows, deep on the mountains, advantage and
difadvantage of, I. 28, & feqa.

SOE-KAT, the Sea-cat, II. 149.

Sort, of Norway in general, 1. 35.

SOLIDA INTRA SoLipa, what, I. HARE SG

SotsorT, the Miffel-bird, II. 97.

SoLv-FIsK, a fea-fifh, II. rs0.

SONDEN-WINDS-FUGL, South-wind-bird, de-
{cribed, II. 99, 100.

SpPEcuLuM ReEGaLeE, an antient manufcript,
fuppofed by the author to be loft, I. Pref.
XIV. This proved a miftake, it being ftill
extant, IJ. Pref. VI. The notion of its being

written by king Sverre without foundation,
ibid. & VII.

Spek-hugger, a fea-fifh, II. rc0,
SpetTte, the Wood-pecker, II, 97.
SPIDBERG, Jens, his defcription of Chriftian-
fand, I. 16. Note. ;
SpipER, Kongro, or Spindel, Aranea, II. 42.
Spove, @ Strand-bird, II. gv, ; |
Spurre, the Sparrow, ibid.
SquirreL, Egernet, II, 24,
Hhhh

STAR-

IN. DE X.

STAR-FISH, Kors-fifk, Stella-marina, a curious
fifh, and particularly defcribed, If. 179, 180,

Str, the Starling, If. 98.

Srren-bider, Lupus-pifcis, the Sea-wolf, II.
151,

A cabal a fifh, IT. rsx.

STEENSKREED, diftuption of a rock, its fatal
confequences, I. 60,

STEEN-ULK, Rana Pifcatrix, the Frog-fith, or
Sea-devil, 151, 152.

STILLITZ, the Gold-finch, II, 98.

Stock-/Enper, a kind of Wild duck, fup-
poted to grow on trees, I. 67. That opi-
nion confuted, ibid. & 68. ,

Stones, allowed by the French academy to

have been originally a foft or flimy pafte, I._

- Note. Not ve etative, «7 She wing
choir fubftance to noe ween foft and fluid,
but fuddenly indurated, 176. Remarkable
figure of a ftone on the mountain Svuku,
I °
eae feldom feen in Norway, II. 98.
STORRE, Sturio, the Sturgeon, of feveral forts,

Il. 153, 154.
Story, a remarkable one of two brothers,

I, 111, & feqq. Of a Bear, 13, 14.
STRANSIDDERE, a fort of people that live by

fifhing, II. 5. Feed their cows with cods-

heads and fifh-bones, ibid. The Arabians do
the fame at Balfora, ibid. Note.
SVALE, the Swallow, Hirundo, an account of

its retreat in Winter, II. 98, 99:

SvaNgE, the Swan, not common in Norway,

If. 99.

SuLPHuR, found in great plenty in Norway,

F203)

SUMM ER-NIGHTS, the cleannefs and ferenity of

them in Norway, I.

SuN, continually in fight in Summer in
diftrict of Tromfen, I. 3
SwW/ERD-FIsH, Serra priftis, the Saw-fith, II. 154,
Field facred by the Negroes on the African
coaft, 155. |

SwepEs, feveral thoufands of them perifhed by
extreme cold, I. 18.

the

SyRez, a Norwegian river that thoots into the.

fea like an arrow, I. gr.
A is

TALE-STONE, or Veeg-fteen, I. 166, 167.

Tar, extracted from the roots of fir-trees, IT.
282, 283. A profitable commodity, I. 143.

Tart, or Pinke, a {mall kind of Salmon, I,
TGC.

T eal a colony of, fettle in Norway, II,
240.

Tesst, a fea bird, II. 100. .

TerRa ANTIscoRBUTICA, found in Norway,
I. 206, |

THIistxies, fome of them bear corn in Nor-
way, I. 117, .

Tuunper-sTongs, I, 176. Unanimoufly al-

low’d to be artificially wrought, I, 1476.
Tipes, greateft height of them in Norway
is eight feet, I. 76. Much higher in Eng-.
land, and the Netherlands, ibid
Tiexp,. a ftrange bird, II. 100. A great enemy
to the raven, ibid, The farmers favourite,
ibid.
Tiias, Daniel, an entertaining little book of
his quoted by the author, I. 193, 194.
TimBER, exported from Norway in vatt quan-
tities to different parts of Europe, I. 1 37.
Tiur, Uregallus major, the Cock of the wood,
or Cock of the mountain, II, ror, |
Toaps, Tudfer, not very commen ia Nor-

al peace |
Tis WOOO the Norwegians fond of it, II. 269,

270. Firft introduced into Norway, ibid.
Torso, a plant fatal to horfes, 1, 131.
ToRGHATTEN, a remarkable mountain in

Norway, I. 47.

Torsx, the Cod-fith, Afellus major, II. 155.
Way of catching them, ibid, & feqq.

TourcRrass, a noxious plant, I. 131,

Tournerort, his afcent to the top of Mount
Arrarat, I. 132.

TRADE and commerce flourithed in Norway
for many ages, II, 279, The moft confider-"
able trading cities there, Il. 280.

TREES, a catalogue of thofe in Norway, I. °
138, & feqq.

Truviers, a kind of Saow-fhoes, I. 29, II,

ot eee
rine Solea, a flat fifh, II. 1509.
Tursor, fee Helle-flynder.
Turr, both black and brown found in Nor-
way, I. 38.

Vie

VapMEL, a kind of coarfe cloth worn by the

Norway peafants, II. 276,
VacTEL, Coturnix, the Quail, IT. ror,
Vaurus, the Sea-horfe, II. 159, 160.
Vas-siup, the Herring, II. 160.
Veat, in Norway, not inferior to that in Eng-
land, II. 5. Note.
VEEGSTEEN, a valuable ftone for building,
Toe6s ;
VeEITER, a fortof trenches, deferibed, I. 103,
Vecertas_es, all kind of efculent and garden,
__thrivein Norway of late years, I. 113.
VEGETABLES, chiefly noxious, growing in
_ Norway, and little known elfewhere, de-
{cribed, I. 126, & feqq.
Vetcnes, reckoned by M, Ramus among the
vegetables of Norway, I. 107,
Uctre, the Owl, Bubo, II, 102. Two forts
-in Norway, ibid.
Vise, the Plover, II. ror. e
VIOLA CANINA, a plant of extraordinary qua-
lity, I. 110. Supported the lives of two
brothers feveral days, I, ibid.
} VITRIOL>

PEN ty Ee

VitRioL, might be had in great plenty in
Norway, I. 204.

utes the Sea-{corpion, Scorpius marinus, II.
160.

a arti Peter, his defcription of Norway,

89.
W.
Waas, called the Northern Italy, I. 64.

~Waccons, not ufed in Norway, except on

the frontiers, I. 102.

Watutts, Dr. his account of the Ifands of
_Orkney, I. 17. Note.

WATER, fluid in the North, when it is
frozen in the Southern latitudes, I. 14."

WaATsER-BEETLES, II. 49.

WaTER-FALLS, from the rocks, I, 93, & feqq.

WATER-FLEA, II. 4g.

WatTER-snakes, Vandflanger, feveral fathoms
long, II. 38. -

WATER-spouT, or Tromp de mer, an ac-
count of it, I. 34

Weavine, method of, ufed in Norway, II.
2733 274-

“Wuatt, fee Hval-fifk. :

Wue art, and Buck-wheat, grow in Norway,
but not in many places there, I. 107.
Wuaey, the common drink of the peafants in

Norway, I. 5.

| Witp-pucxs of various kinds, II, 66, & feqq:
Wuster, M. brought grapes almoft to ma-

turity, in his garden at Chriftiana, II, 22.
Winpows, feldom {een in the peafants houfes
in Norway, II. 277,

Winps, regular and irregular in Norway, I,
32, & feqq. Eaft wind moft falubrious in
that country, ibid.

Winter, mild in the Weftern parts of Nor-
way, and the froft feldom fevere or laft-
ing, I. 1g. Efpecially about Bergen, 14.
Natural caufe of this mildnefs, 15, & feqq.
Winter fifhery, ibid. . ;

Wotr, the plague of Norway, Il. 17. De-
fcribed ibid. & .feqq. Several methods of
deftroying Wolves, II. 19,

Wotrius, obferves that the length of days in.

the North during Summer, makes it warmer
than in more Southerly climates, I. 21. Note.
Fis opinion concerning the air, 25.

WoMEWNS arch in Norway, Il. 275.

Woop, greater quantity of it is left to rot in
Norway than is’ confumed in Denmark, I.
138, |

W oops, thofe of Norway treated of, I, 136.

Woop-tiice, II: 48,

Woopwarp, Dr. his theory of the earth,
I, 16. His opinion adopted by the author,
50. Preferable to that of Burnet or Whifton,
ibid. Combated by Elias Camerarius and
M. Buffon, ibid. The author’s reafons for
adopting it, ibid. & feq.

Worms, a fmall fort of, fuppofed to be brought
into Norway by fogs, II. 43. Another fort
of fmall Worms that fall with the fnow, 44.
Defcribed, ibid. & feqq. That opinion re-
jected by fome, 45. Adopted by the au-
thor, 46, Sea worm, 51.

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