26 THE WILD REINDEER OF NORWAY. 



the former part of my article, I was camped on the 

 fjelds in a different district, where, on account of a 

 change in the wind, I thought there might be a 

 good chance of obtaining sport. The weather had 

 been excessively cold on the mountains for some 

 days, and a considerable amount of snow had fallen 

 a by no means unfavourable circumstance, as we 

 were enabled to perceive the tracks of the deer 

 with greater distinctness. 



I should decidedly advise any sportsman who may 

 feel disposed to try reindeer stalking to bring out a 

 tent from England, as the only shelter to be obtained 

 on the fjelds consists of small huts, called lagers, 

 constructed of stones and brushwood. In these 

 hovels, during rough weather, gusts of wind and 

 rain find their way through every crack and crevice 

 of the walls, rendering the whole place damp and 

 wretched in the extreme. It is by no means pleasant 

 to come back wet and tired after a twenty miles' 

 scramble over all sorts of difficult rocky ground, to 

 find the floor of your hut a liquid mud bath, and 

 to have a constant drip of water descending on you 

 from the roof and side walls. Moreover, the only 

 fuel to be met with in the lofty regions frequented 

 by the reindeer consists of the dwarf willow and a 

 small species of juniper. These shrubs, when 

 ignited, exhale a pungent smoke, which affects the 

 eyes in a most disagreeable manner. 



