48 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 



contracts, and told liiin all sorts of yarns, and persuaded liim that he 

 ought not to lej>'alize the contracts without sufficient guaranty that 

 the contracts would be fulfilled. The crank argued that inasmuch as 

 the Lapps had been swindled heretofore they were sure to be swiiuUed 

 this time. You know the result of this meddling. 1 had to telegraph 

 to Consul Gade, in Eergen, and he advised me to cable to Washington. 

 I did so, and received a satisfactory answer. Had 1 not received this 

 answer iu due time, the Lapps would certaiidy have broken their con- 

 tracts and gone back to their mountains believing that all was humbug, 

 only a little better concealed than is usually tlie case. 



At 7 o'clock p. m. we all Avent on board the steamer Vesteraalen^ 

 bound for Trondhjem. From Ilammerfestto Trondhjem 1 had obtained 

 the best rates from the Vesteraalen Steamship Company, and from 

 Trondhjem to New York, via ('hristiania, 1 had obtained the most 

 favorable rates from the Thingvalla Steamship Company. 



The Journey from llammerfest to Trondhjem took three days. The 

 Lapps were very despondent, and I had all 1 could do to comfort them 

 and restore their lost courage. On the 19th they crossed the Polar circle 

 for the first time in their lives, and on the 20th we arrived in Trondhjem, 

 where we remained two days. During this time the Lapps unpacked 

 and dried their baggage, and here I settled my money matters with Mr. 

 Clans l>erg, our consular agent, bought tickets, and had my Lapps exam- 

 ined by the proper authorities. Their contracts were countersigned by 

 the chief of police to prevent any annoyance in the future. Everything 

 was in order the 23d of April, when w^e boarded a train for Christiauia. 

 It was the first experience of the Lapps on a railroad train, and they were 

 naturally very anxious. Whenever the locomotive whistled they would 

 seize hold of the seats with both hands; but when they found that the 

 train moved as steadily as any reindeer pulkha on the mountains of 

 Lapland they loosened their grips on the seats and began to talk about 

 the ingenuity of man. They were astonished at the tunnels we passed 

 through, and looked with wonderment at the broad fields and at the 

 farmers who were plowing. 



In the afternoon we reached an altitude of 2,155 feet above the level 

 of the sea. Here we found plenty of snow, and where the ground was 

 bare it was covered with reindeer moss. All the strange things the 

 Lapps had seen had gradually made them forget their sadness, and the 

 sight of the moss filled their hearts with joy. As the trains do not run 

 in the night in Norway, we spent the night at Tonseth. The next day 

 we continued our journey down through the valley of Clommeu, and 

 the Lapps spent the time admiring the new things. They looked at the 

 rafts floating down the river, at the well-cultivated farms with their nice 

 red and white houses, and watched the new passengers getting on and 

 off the train at the stations. In the afternoon we changed cars at 

 Hamar Station, and on the evening of the 24:th of April we came to 



