ANOTHER CROTCHET. 25? 



who remain a whole summer in the country in their Sater- 

 huty loses her virtue and becomes pregnant, she then en- 

 dangers her life, as well as that of her child." 



Another singular notion also prevalent in parts of Scandi- 

 navia is, that when the bear has received his death-wound, 

 he, rather than fall into the hands of his pursuers, will 

 commit self-destruction ! If this strange idea was confined 

 to the lower orders, it might hardly deserve even a passing 

 notice; but as there are those of the better classes who 

 entertain the crotchet, and amongst the rest M. Harald 

 Vergeland, I will quote his views on the subject, as his 

 reasoning is somewhat curious. 



"That the bear when mortally wounded makes for the 

 vandy or lake, and there disappears," says that gentleman, 

 " has long been a general belief among the common people 

 in Norway. But so far as I am aware, no certain evidence 

 of the fact could for a long time be obtained ; neither could 

 people explain how the beast had the power to prevent his 

 dead carcase from rising, at least for a shorter time, to the 

 surface, which never happened ; and the mystery could not, 

 therefore, be properly cleared up. Recently, however, we 

 have not only had convincing proof that the popular belief is 

 founded in truth; but the manner in which the body has 

 been kept under the water, has been very satisfactorily ex- 

 plained. The discovery took place in this wise : 



" Whilst the Vada, or drag-net, was being used in a forest- 

 lake, situated between Eidsvold and the neighbouring parish 

 of Uurdal, in the near vicinity of which, from olden times to 

 the present, there have been several places where it has been 

 customary to shoot bears from the Gall (of which presently) ; 

 a sunken log was drawn up from the bottom, with the skulls 



VOL. i. s 



