THE WILD REINDEER OF NORWAY. 27 



My readers may imagine what a delightful abode 

 one of these Icegers must be in bad weather, and 

 unless you are provided with a tent, there is no 

 other shelter to be obtained on the fjeld, except the 

 sceters, corresponding to the Swiss chdlets, which are 

 situated on the pasture-grounds in the lower parts 

 of the mountains, and in which the visitor is pretty 

 sure to make the acquaintance of many lively 

 specimens of the genus Pulex. There are two or 

 three of these sceters on the high road between 

 Nystuen and Leirdalsoren, and I fancy if the 

 curiously disposed pay them a visit they will find 

 my description by no means overdrawn. 



However, to return to the deer. I had heard 

 that an unusually fine stag had been seen in that 

 part of the mountains in which I was then camped, 

 and I was determined to spare no trouble in order 

 to bag him. 



The ground we were on was more than usually 

 difficult, consisting principally of large beds of 

 broken rock, with small glaciers and deep declivities 

 covered with soft snow, and here and there broken 

 up by steep precipitous ravines, rendered slippery 

 by rills of water. 



My tent was, as usual, pitched by a small lake, 

 where the ground was smoother, and covered with 

 a thick carpet of grey reindeer moss. We had been 

 prevented from going out on two or three occasions 



