^56 Mr Bohr's Account of a Visit to the Glaciers of 



although in summer it is perhaps the most difficult of the two. 

 Through the cultivated valley of Dahl, a side branch of the 

 cheerful and rich valley of Lyster, you come to Storhaugen, about 

 seven English miles from Lysterfiord. Five miles farther on, 

 you reach a picturesque elevation, about 2513 feet above the 

 level of the sea, from which you descend to a delightful resting- 

 place, called Storksel. Here Nidal, the first valley in Justedal, 

 inclosed on each side by lofty snow-covered mountains, has al- 

 ready begun to display its enchanting scenery, combining what 

 is most beautiful with what is most fearful. Through green 

 fields covered with corn and grass, with the houses of the pea- 

 sants scattered over them, you advance along its grey coloured 

 stream, with its banks shaded with trees, but overhung by dark 

 naked precipices, which threaten to fall on your head. About 

 three miles on you reach the Church of Justedal, 621 feet above 

 the level of the sea. Between the farm-houses of Kiervig and 

 Kieppe, opposite to the parsonage-house, the traveller discovers 

 five small water-falls from the rock of Kiersdal, which, in their 

 descent, unite into one, the velocity of which, before it reach the 

 river, is so great that it rises again in vapours. 



Opposite to the farm-house of Krege, the first large sky-blue 

 coloured mass of ice begins to shine, called the Glacier of 

 Berset, a branch of the huge mass which covers Lodal. Its 

 lower margin is about 1440 feet above the level of the sea. 

 There, where Kroudal, Krege Dal, and Melvirs Dal meet one 

 another, is a fine and picturesque situation, abounding in all 

 the beauties peculiar to the lower alpine regions. Every thing 

 that nature does in these valleys is impressive. A little farther 

 east and farther up, the road passes another majestic mass of 

 ice, called the Glacier of Nigaard, which is at present larger, 

 and in its former effects was more destructive than the Glacier 

 of Berset. In addition to what Von Buch and Professor 

 Smith have said, in their account of these glaciers, I shall quote 

 an extract on this subject from the archives of N. Bergenhaus. 

 " At the farm of Berset, on the 21st of August 1742, attended 

 the Sheriff*, the Bailiff" of the district, and six chosen inspectors, 

 to estimate the damage which the glacier had occasioned. Two 

 old men declared, that, in their youth, the glacier had been 

 high up in a cleft of the mountam, but that during the last ten 



