The Land of the Long Night | Page 3

at Sea.--Wake of the Ragnild.--Thousands of Phosphorescent Lights.--A Light Ahead.--An Arctic Fair.--A Fishing Settlement.--How the Cod are Cured.--Fish and Fertilizer Fragrance. 199
XXVIII. Among the Fishermen.--Their Lodgings and How They Look.--What They Have to Eat.--An Evening of Talk about Cod, Salmon, and Herring.--The Immense Number of Fish.--A Snoring Match. 205
XXIX. Departure for the Fishing Banks.--Great Number of Boats.--More than Five Thousand Oars Fall into the Water at the Same Time.--Quantities of Buoys and Glass Balls.--A Notable Catch of Cod. 211
XXX. A Great Viking Sea Fight.--Svein King of Denmark, Olaf King of Sweden, Erik Jarl of Norway, against King Olaf Tryggvasson of Norway.--They Lie in Ambush.--Magnificent Ships.--The Long Serpent.--Ready for the Fight.--The Attack.--The Jarn Bardi.--Defeat of Olaf Tryggvasson. 219
XXXI. Sailing along the Coast of Finmarken.--Hammerfest, the Most Northern Town in the World.--Schools.--Fruholmen, the Most Northern Lighthouse in the World.--Among the Sea Lapps.--Men and Women Sailors. 227
XXXII. A Sea Lapp Hamlet.--Strange Houses.--Their Interiors.--Summer Dress of the Sea Lapps.--Primitive Wooden Cart.--Animals Eat Raw Fish.--I Sleep in a Sea Lapp's House.--They Tell Me to Hurry Southward. 232
XXXIII. Comparison of Finmarken with Alaska.--The Two Lands Much Alike.--What Must be Done for Alaska.--Colonization.--Importation of Reindeer.--Protection of Fisheries.--Houses of Refuge. 241
XXXIV. Preparation to Leave the Arctic Coast.--Great Danger of Encountering Melting Snow, or Rivers Made Dangerous by the Ice Breaking.--Reindeer Come.--Farewell to the Sea Lapps.--I Leave for More Southern Land. 244
XXXV. We Enter a Birch Forest.--The Reindeer are Soon Fagged.--Sleep on the Snow.--The Rays of the Sun Melt through the Snow.--Great difficulty in Travelling.--Meet Herds of Reindeer.--Reindeer Bulls Fight Each Other. 249
XXXVI. Variable Weather.--Snowy Days.--An Uninhabited House of Refuge.--Animals Changing the Color of their Fur.--Mikel Tells Me about a Bear.--Killing the Bear.--Hurrying on over Soft Snow and Frozen Rivers.--The Ice Begins to Break.--Pass the Arctic Circle. 256

List of Illustrations
"Your friend, Paul Du Chaillu." Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
"On the road were many snow-ploughs at work levelling the snow." 8
"The husband suddenly disappeared through the trap-door and soon came back with potatoes and a big piece of bacon." 20
"The boys got hold of my hands and pulled me through." 24
"It was, indeed, a fearful wind storm." 40
"Paulus, try again!" 54
"The man had to use all his strength." 64
"I was shot out of the sleigh." 68
"At noon I saw the sun's lower rim touching the horizon." 72
"What a strange abode these nomadic Lapps have!" 80
"I went outside the tent with my host." 92
"They were really working hard for their living." 104
"The Lapp passed him like a flash and gave him a terrible blow." 124
"It was a fight for life!" 128
"Suddenly I saw them fly through the air." 132
"I advanced cautiously." 160
"The mist was so thick that I could not see ahead." 172
"We remained seated on the ground, back to back." 180
"Once in a while I gave a look towards the ugly precipice." 184
"I am clad in the garb of a fisherman." 190
"I saw a big towering wave rolling towards the stern of the ship." 194
"It is hard work to haul in the nets." 212
"We sailed towards North Cape." 228
"He sat on his haunches and looked at us, uttering a tremendous growl." 262

The Land of the Long Night
CHAPTER I
ON THE WAY TO "THE LAND OF THE LONG NIGHT."--HOMESICK.--TEMPTED TO RETURN.--GIRLS AND BOYS SAY "NO; GO ON, GO ON, PAUL."--DECIDE TO CONTINUE MY JOURNEY.--WINTER COMING ON.--DON WARMER CLOTHING.--FROM STOCKHOLM NORTH.
At the time when this narrative begins I was travelling on the highroad that skirts the southern coast of Sweden, then turns northward and follows the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. I had reached that part of the highway overlooking the narrow part of the Sound which separates Sweden from Denmark, and had just left the pretty little city of Helsingborg, and was looking at the hundreds of vessels and steamers which were moving towards the Baltic or coming out of that sea. It was a most beautiful sight.
I intended to follow the road as far north as it went, and enter "The Land of the Long Night" when the sun was below the horizon for many weeks. I had plenty of time to spare, for it was the beginning of October.
On that day my horse was trotting at the usual gait of post-horses, going at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. He knew every stone, ditch, bridge, and house on the road, for many and many a time the dear old animal had made this journey to and fro, often twice each way in a day. He had been a post-horse for over twelve years.
His master, my driver, was very kind to him. He always alighted when there was a hill to ascend, and walked by his side, gently urging him to go on. When the top of the hill was reached, he stopped to give the animal time to take breath; then, before starting again, he