476 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



lowed, and the Finlanders are 

 called Finns ; and this sometimes 

 gives rise to misconceptions and 

 errors. Several thousands of Fin- 

 landers, perhaps, live in the 

 western part of Dalecarlia, and 

 among the mountains of Orsa 

 Socker, above the Eastern Dal 

 Ely, who were invited there, it is 

 said, by Charles IX. and who 

 still retain their language and 

 customs, notwithstanding they are 

 surrounded by Sweden, and far 

 distant from their original country. 

 The country which they inhabit is 

 in Sweden called Finmark. This 

 appears to have misled Tuneld to 

 connect this Finmark with the 

 Norwegian Finmark, and the Nor- 

 wegian Finns. " Finmark, says he 

 (Geographies I. 111.) is a name 

 given to a tract of country which 

 runs from Bahuselhn along the 

 Norwegian frontiers, all the way 

 to Lapmark. There the remains 

 of the first inhabitants of the 

 country still live, who, driven o&t 

 by Othin's conductor, advanced 

 farther and farther northwards, 

 and now alone inhabit Lapmark." 

 What errors ! Neither in Ba- 

 huslehn, nor in Dalsland, nor in 

 Elvedal, nor Herjeadalen, are there 

 any Finlanders, and consequently 

 there is no Finmark there. And 

 how is it possible to join the Finns 

 of Orsa with the Norwegian Finns, 

 or the Laplanders ? Nomades with 

 diligent agriculturists ! A people 

 who yet speak the language of 

 Abo, with Laplanders who do not 

 understand a word of Finnish > 

 The Finlanders of Dalecarlia have 

 also advanced into Norway, and 

 have peopled and brought under 

 the plough several districts in the 

 Prastegieldts of Tryssild. Grue, 

 Elverum, and Vinger. They root- 



ed out, and set fire to the woody, 

 cultivated rye among the ashes, and 

 procured in this way rich harvests. 

 But they remained in the Gaards 

 which they first constructed in the 

 valley where they still dwell. The 

 indefatigable missionary, Thomas 

 Von Westen, heard of these Finns 

 in Drontheim in 1719, on his re- 

 turn from his third journey to Fin- 

 mark : and his zeal would not 

 allow him to rest till be had also 

 converted them to Christians. But 

 the College of IMissionaries in 

 Copenhagen dissuaded him from 

 his purpose, as the place inhabited 

 by the Finns belonged to the bi- 

 shoprick of Christiania, and they 

 were afraid of the powerful and 

 highly-dreaded bishop Deich- 

 mann, of Christiania, who, secure 

 of the king's favour, acted in 

 every thing in a very arbitrary 

 and disrespectful manner. This, 

 however, M'ith M. Von Westen, 

 was but throwing oil into the fire. 

 With a true zeal for proselytism, 

 he boldly threw the souls of all 

 these Rugfimis on the bishop's 

 conscience, and proved that he 

 would be answerable for them at 

 the last day. The missionary col- 

 lege could oppose nothing to such 

 weighty reasons. With the utmost 

 caution, almost trembling, and 

 after several years consideration of 

 the matter, they ventured, in 1727, 

 to represent to the mighty bishop, 

 that it would be useful and neces- 

 sary to dispatch missionaries also 

 among these Finns, which were 

 independent of the bishop, and be- 

 longed to the missionary college. 

 They received the unlooked-for 

 answer, that their zeal was here 

 perfectly unnecessary, as the Finns 

 of Christiania lived like Norwe- 

 gians, and as far back as any thing 



