The Land of the Long Night | Page 6

windows opening
like doors are used, and one of the panes of each is free for ventilation.
The rooms were uncarpeted, just as in summer, but rugs were spread on
the floors.
As I drove along it was pleasant to see at the windows, behind the
panes of glass, pots filled with roses, carnations, geraniums, and other
plants, all bending in the direction of the sun. The sun gave scarcely
any heat, yet all the plants in a room liked to look towards the light.
I was always so glad at the end of the day's travelling to rest at a post
station, to enter the "stuga," the every-day room, where the family lives,

and see the blazing open fireplace. How nice it was to jump into a
feather bed, and sink deep and be lost in it, and to cover myself with a
quilt filled with feathers or eider down!
When I found a pleasant station I would remain there a day or two to
rest, for it was hard to drive day after day, for ten, twelve, or fifteen,
and sometimes eighteen hours. It was interesting to see the whole
family at their daily occupations; to see the women spin, weave, or knit;
to see the men make skees, wooden shoes, etc., and the girls and boys
go to school and have fun and play together, throwing snowballs at
each other; making snow forts and defending them against other girls
and boys that came to attack them. I wished sometimes to join in the
fray, for I love fun.
The snow was deep, and the snow-ploughs, drawn by three horses,
were seen pretty often on the road. The streets in the little hamlets or
towns were often blocked.
[Illustration: "On the road were many snow-ploughs at work levelling
the snow."]
CHAPTER II
SNOW LAND.--A GREAT SNOWSTORM.--FEARFUL
ROADS.--SNOW-PLOUGHS.--LOSING THE
WAY.--INTELLIGENCE OF THE HORSES.--UPSET IN THE
SNOW.--DIFFICULTY OF RIGHTING
OURSELVES.--PERSPIRING AT 23 DEGREES BELOW
ZERO.--HOUSES BURIED IN SNOW.
After I left the town of Gefle the blue sky became obscured by clouds,
a few flakes of snow began to fall, then more and more came down,
and soon they covered the old snow, that was already of good depth.
I had never before had a post-horse that went so fast, and I wondered
why. The horse knew, but I did not: a big snowstorm was coming! He
was afraid of being caught in it, and wanted to reach his stable in time.
After a while the snow fell so thick that I could see nothing ahead. To

make things worse it began to blow hard. Then I dropped the reins and
let the horse go as he pleased. As he knew that the snowstorm was
coming, so he would know how to get home. Suddenly he gave three or
four loud neighs; this announced his arrival. Then he turned to the right
and entered a yard. He had reached home!
The next morning it was still snowing; nevertheless I started. On the
road were many snow-ploughs at work levelling the snow. These
ploughs were of triangular form, made of heavy timber braced with
crossbeams. They were generally from eight to ten feet in width at the
back, which was the broadest part, and above fifteen feet long. They
were drawn by four horses and attended by two men.
The ploughs were followed by heavy rollers of wood to pack the snow.
Erik, my driver, said that every farmer is obliged to furnish horses to
clear the road and level it after a snowstorm. The number of horses he
furnishes is regulated by the size of his farm. It is very important that
the road should be kept in good order, and the rules are strictly
enforced.
As we travelled along the road, it was amusing to see horses and dogs
roll in the snow; they enjoyed it! The horses that we drove would often
take a nip of the snow, and the dogs that followed us did likewise.
One day when I was looking at two horses rolling in the snow near a
farmhouse, I suddenly felt a great jerk and we were pitched out
headlong! Our horse wanted to have some fun! So he fell on his side
and was about to roll over and enjoy himself, taking the sleigh with him;
but we did not see the joke. We succeeded in putting him on his legs.
The driver gave the animal a good scolding: "Shame on you, shame on
you!" he said to him. The horse listened, and seemed to understand him.
I think he felt ashamed.
As I journeyed further north the snow got deeper and deeper every hour.
Snow-ploughs were now drawn by five horses and generally attended
by three men.

The snowstorm still continued. It had now lasted