SIKKILDAL.
_Sunday, July 25._--We arose soon after seven; not because it is our
nature to get up at that time, still less because we think it our duty
to do so; but because the sun made the tent so intolerably hot that
there was no pleasure to be derived from staying in bed any longer.
Naturally after this we were very cross, which the Skipper says all
really pious people are on Sunday morning; and he abused Esau
shamefully, because the latter wanted the eggs buttered and the Skipper
wanted them fried. Esau laid down the axiom that 'no gentleman ever eats
fried eggs,' in a peculiarly offensive manner, and proceeded further to
make ill-natured remarks with reference to violet ink; and the Skipper
retorted with the observation, 'Wish you'd brought that anchovy paste.'
Esau: 'Why?' Skipper: 'Because it's just the stuff to grease your boots
with in a place like this; smells strongish, and keeps the mosquitoes at
a distance.' Altogether we made ourselves as disagreeable as possible to
each other--just as we do in our happy homes on the Sabbath morn in
England. Fortunately Sunday only comes once a week.
Breakfast over, the Skipper devoted himself to the occupation of
greasing his boots and shaving, which he seems to do at the same time,
so that one brush may be used for both the soap and the grease; while
Esau did some washing.
We had some trouble in getting good firewood, for Sikkildals Vand is
more than three thousand feet above sea level, and consequently we were
above the region of pine forests, and had only the stunted birch and
juniper from which to obtain our supply. We divide the altitudes rather
differently from the system adopted by other great explorers. The lowest
belt is that of pine forests and strawberries, then comes the zone of
stunted birches, above that only juniper and bitter willow are found;
and the highest belt of vegetation contains only rocks,
reindeer-flowers, and moss, and then eternal snow.
Now birch trees do not make good firewood, for when they die they appear
to get water-logged, and never burn well. The juniper is the most
invaluable of all trees, for it will burn quite green; but at Sikkildals
Vand it is very scarce, and so it took us quite a long time to collect
enough dry wood to last our stay out, but it was done at last. We
carried one canoe across the spit of land between the two lakes, and in
it the Skipper went forth to get fish for the larder, while Esau took
the other canoe down the lower lake to get some milk from Sikkildals
Sæter.
The scenery here is very fine. The lakes are narrow, and highish
mountains rise on each side: those on the south side had snow upon them,
though this would disappear before the end of the summer, as we are not
yet in the regions of perpetual snow; on the north side there is a very
remarkable mountain called Sikkildals Horn, with a perfectly
impracticable front of overhanging rock, very high and rugged. There was
a constant rumbling and booming proceeding from it, as rocks from time
to time broke off and came crashing down; but our tent--though seemingly
under this cliff--was well out of their reach. At the further end of the
upper lake we could see an apparently impassable mountain ridge. Beyond
this, about four miles further according to the maps, was Besse Sæter,
a farm, or ranch, only one day's journey from our final resting-place.
How we were to cross that mountain with our canoes and baggage, was a
matter only to be determined by prophets and other beings of a higher
order of intelligence than ours. Our friend Mr. B. thought it was almost
impossible; the Skipper boldly asserted that it _was_ impossible, and
requested to be allowed to die here; while Esau, with the sanguine
joyousness begotten of total ignorance, said of course it could be
managed. We determined to move to the end of the lake the next day, and
try the pass on the one following--barring earthquakes.
Esau had a most interesting voyage. His fishing was not very successful
at first, and he paddled steadily on towards the Sæter, overtaking a
boat quite full of girls, dressed in the very picturesque native costume
which the people in these primitive regions still adhere to, especially
on Sundays. The girls about here are rather pretty than otherwise, and
these were a particularly good selection, and of course all in their
cleanest and smartest clothes for Sunday. They _would_ stop to watch him
fishing, till he got quite shy, and gave up throwing till they rowed on.
[Illustration: Sæter Girls in a Boat on Sikkildals Lake]
Soon he came to a brood of pochards under the leadership of the old
duck, and spent half an hour trying to capture one by rapid paddling, in
which endeavour he was nearly but not quite successful. There were a
good many teal and pochards on the lower lake, and plenty of sandpipers
on the shores of the upper one.
At last he reached the Sæter, and found there all the girls of the boat,
and at least another boat-load and five or six strangers--quite a crowd:
possibly they had been having a church service, but probably not, as
they all seemed in the best of tempers, and were most amiable.
He got the milk, and coming back tried a few casts, and found that the
fish were rising properly; the result was nineteen good trout in about
an hour and a half. We had not been catching many fish lately; so after
his return to camp we concluded that this was the hour and we were the
men to revel in a fiendish glut of capture. So there was a regular
stampede in that camp, and after dinner we _all_ went out armed to the
teeth with rods and fly-books, and clothed in landing nets and Freke
bags, with our teeth firmly set and a bloodthirsty look in our eyes,
intending to struggle with the great trout in his native element or
perish in the attempt. . . .
About ten o'clock that night there might have been seen toiling wearily
back to camp under a cloudy sky and with a chilly blast a-blowing, two
forlorn youths, 'sans' fish, 'sans' hope, but still armed to the teeth
with the weapons of the chase.
However, we had now tried both lakes, and got some knowledge of their
capabilities. The upper one is, we think, the better of the two, but
more difficult to catch fish in. The Skipper got some in it to-day, and
they were larger fish than those of the lower lake, and a different
sort, more like the silvery trout of the Jotunfjeld, whereas the others
are the ordinary brown or yellow trout.
This afternoon Mr. B. and his wife with a friend came up in a boat to
see our camp, at which they seemed much pleased. We took them short
cruises in the canoes, showed them our various arrangements, and
endeavoured to be agreeable.
The friend was the manager of the government stud for this district, and
spoke English fairly. He told us that the government provides a certain
number of good stallions, which are turned out on the fjeld and run with
the peasants' mares, and that they take great trouble to provide the
best that can be got, so as to improve the breed. He considered that
there are very decidedly good results.
_July 26._--A beautiful fishing morning, just beginning to blow up for
rain. The Skipper fished his way down to the Sæter for more provisions,
and had first-rate sport, catching twenty-two beautiful fish, mostly
over a pound. He had such an exciting time of it that lunch was
forgotten till three o'clock, a fact which spoke volumes for the
excellence of the sport, for we generally acquire a very keen appetite
every three or four hours so long as the sun is performing his daily
duty (of standing still while we circulate feebly round ourselves). He
came back to the tent, presenting rather a distended appearance, having
stuffed most of his pockets full of potatoes, and a packet of salt in
his hat; and while with his right hand he folded to his bosom a bottle
of cream, and another of milk, in his left he grasped a rod, a landing
net and paddle, and the rest of him was hung with fish. The Skipper
objects to making two journeys where only one is necessary.
Esau thinks that 'flesh-meat' is a necessary of life, so he took his gun
up the upper lake, and returned with the noble spoil of five sandpipers
which he had shot out of the canoe by creeping along the edge of the
lake, a most entertaining pastime.
There is an old ruined fisherman's hut at our end of the lake, and this
had apparently been taken as a habitation by a family of stoats, which
Esau espied at their gambols on his return. Cartridges are precious
here, but the instinct of destruction of a stoat was too much for him,
and having chirped till two of them stood close together and a third
just behind, he fired into the crowd and mortally injured the lot. Poor
little things! It is rather a shame to kill them, for there is so little
game that they cannot do much harm, probably feeding chiefly on mice and
lemmings, which are very numerous; and they always look uncommonly
pretty playing about the rocks. No more graceful animal exists than a
stoat.
After dinner had been cooked and despatched we went forth to fish again,
and had some good sport; but presently lowering clouds settled down over
the surface of the deep, mosquitoes gathered round us in swarms, and a
few spots of rain drove us home to the snug retreat of the tent, where
hidden away under the warmth of our bedding we smoked in thoughtful
silence, and gloated over the day's doings and our larder stocked with
fishes.
_July 27._--The day commenced with showers, and as there are no
inhabitants here to whom we can give the surplus fish, we did not like
to catch any more--for it is against our principles to waste food
wilfully, woeful want being too near and probable a state to be trifled
with--consequently we determined to move on, but first to bake some
bread.
This, in a temporary camp, is done by putting the kneaded dough into a
tin pot made on purpose without solder; this pot is then placed in a
hole in the ground in which we have previously kept a good fire for
about half an hour; before putting the pot in, all the embers and ashes
are cleared out, and then raked back on to the top of the tin and all
round it, and a small fire is kept going on the top. If well managed
this bakes excellent bread in about twenty minutes, but of course it
requires considerable experience and care to turn out really
satisfactory bread. When we get to our permanent camp we shall make a
proper oven.
To-day, when we had baked successfully, packed up our things, and were
taking advantage of a break between the showers to start, we were hailed
from the bank, and saw there old Peter Tronhuus, the tenant of Besse
Sæter (whither we are going) and father of Jens Tronhuus, our former
hunter, who is now getting what we require in the shape of food, ponies,
and men, and whom we expect to meet at Besse Sæter. Peter had a great
deal to tell us about all our affairs, which seem to be prospering under
Jens' auspices. He talks English very badly, so the interview lasted
some time, and then we pushed off and paddled straight away to the
extreme end of the lake, where we found an inferior place to pitch the
tent, very damp and unwholesome in appearance, sadly in need of sanitary
inspection, but no doubt good enough for one night. We fished with fly
and minnow all the way, but took nothing, there being a good deal of
thunder round about; but Esau shot some more sandpipers.
Our tent is pitched at the commencement of an extremely vague track,
which we believe to go over our mountain pass to Sjödals Vand
(pronounced Shoodals), and to-morrow we hope to follow its wanderings,
if two men and horses--with whom we have made an arrangement to
transport us--turn up. These two men and horses are the sole inhabitants
of this very thinly populated district, so that we are at their mercy,
and if they do not come we must inevitably die of starvation after we
have eaten all our provisions and candles.
Late in the evening Herr B---- and a scientific friend who had just come
to stay with him, came down the mountain to our tent. They had been for
a short walking tour to Lake Gjendin--our future goal--where it seems
that a tourist's hut of a superior sort has lately been built, and at
this hut several kinds of food are kept, such as tinned meats and beer.
B---- and his friend have therefore been there shopping. The news of
this hut is rather unpleasant to us, for Gjendin was chosen chiefly for
its wildness and remoteness from civilisation, and now we are haunted
with the idea that there may be tourists, and consequently no fish or
reindeer. On the other hand, it has been erected so short a time that it
can hardly have affected the country round about yet, and it will
certainly be convenient for us from a commissariat point of view.
We were just beginning supper when they arrived, but they would not
stop, for which we were secretly glad, as there was only enough soup for
two; so we had a whisky 'skaal' (health-drinking) instead, and they went
on their way full of beans and benevolence, as Mr. Jorrocks hath it.
We 'whisky' every one who turns up at camp, and as a rule they like it.
We are not much of drunkards ourselves, so we can afford to give it to
other people.