214 SPORT IN NORWAY. 
glittering studs of silver on the snow-white linen, and 
especially the woollen shawl, with its broad red stripes 
woven in with yellow on the white ground, thrown as a 
plaid jauntily over the shoulders, give their costume a 
picturesque and captivating appearance. The Seters- 
dalians are readily distinguished from the inhabitants of 
surrounding districts by their tall stature, broad mus- 
cular backs, and a regular, frequently antique cast of 
features. The tout ensemble, even to the oval form of 
the face, and the small coquettish whiskers which every 
Szetersdal peasant wears, as well as his short jacket and 
low broad-crowned hat, gives him a peculiar foreign 
look, and has contributed to the opinion which circulates 
as a dark tradition, that he is not of the genuine Nor- 
wegian race, and that foreign blood runs in his veins. 
It is said that ages ago, in the remote past, some Scotch 
families found their way into Setersdal, and especially 
into Bykle, and settled there; and that in time they 
became so intermixed with the Setersdal peasants, that 
all indications of their foreign extraction became ob- 
literated, except from this dim tradition and their out- 
landish features. This subject, however, we will not 
discuss, but will rather describe their character, manner 
of. living, the secluded position of their district, and 
their disinclination to enter into connection with those 
who do not dwell among them; for the Sztersdal pea- 
sant is not generally well received out of his own parts, 
