176 TEN YEARS IN SWEDEN. 



tridge, quail, woodcock, great snipe, common snipe, Jack 

 snipe, land rail, common wild duck, teal, widgeon ; and 

 some others, such as swans, geese, diving ducks, golden 

 plover, and waders. 



The Bear. As I never killed a bear myself, or even joined 

 once in a ( ' skall," I can give the reader very little infor- 

 mation, respecting the chase of the bear. But there are 

 plenty of them still, up in the forests of North Wermland 

 and Dalecarlia. I do not suppose that a man who really 

 meant bear-hunting, would have any difficulty in killing 

 three or four in the winter, with the assistance of one of the 

 professional bear-hunters who live up here. But in the first 

 place he must remember that to follow the chase of the 

 bear here in the winter, it is absolutely necessary that he 

 should be able to run on <{ skidor/' or the long snow- skates 

 which the Laplanders use. He cannot do anything without 

 them, so his first lesson in bear-hunting will most probably 

 be his most difficult one. These snow-skates are from 

 twelve to fourteen feet long, about as broad as a man's foot, 

 and turned up at the point. The foot is stuck in two loops 

 in the middle of the " skidor," and the wearer shoves him- 

 self along, first one leg, and then the other, over the snow, 

 keeping himself on the balance with a pointed stick (which 

 cannot sink in, owing to a round shield placed about eight 

 inches up it) . When the snow is well frozen, and a man 

 can run well on skidor, it must be a delightful mode of tra- 

 velling, for then there is no necessity to lift the feet from 

 the ground, but to keep gliding along over the frozen sur- 

 face ; but when the snow is in a bad state it is troublesome, 

 and very laborious work, for the leg has to be lifted at each 

 step, and the weight of the skidor is considerable. However, 

 no man can do anything at all in the northern forest or up 

 in Lapland during the winter, without the skidor, so it is all 

 important that a sportsman who really means to camp in 

 these forests for a winter, should first learn to use them. I 

 cannot run on them myself, nor did I ever meet with any 

 Englishman, except Mr. Lloyd, who could; but I should 

 say that an active young fellow, who did not mind a few 



