The Land of the Long Night | Page 3

of
Refuge.--A Series of Terrific Windstorms in the
Mountains.--Lost.--Gloomy Reflections.--A Happy Reunion. 170
XXV. A Dangerous Descent.--How to Descend the Mountains.--The
Most Perilous Portion of the Journey.--Exhaustion of the Reindeer.--All
Safe at the Bottom.--Arrival at the Shore of the Arctic Sea. 183
XXVI. Sail on the Arctic Ocean.--The Brig Ragnild.--Ægir and Ran,
the God and Goddess of the Sea.--The Nine Daughters of Ægir and
Ran.--Great Storms.--Compelled to Heave To. 190
XXVII. A Dark Night 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