44 TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



Although an inhabitant of the hut at Hagadalen for 

 twenty years, our guide had never even seen the 

 hamlet which we knew existed somewhere about the 

 centre of the farther side of Lake Eogon a long 

 march, as one could see, of apparently twenty miles, 

 over three distinct ranges of mountains which inter- 

 vened. The lowland lying along the border of the 

 lake was exceedingly rough and stony, and composed of 

 aggregations of ancient moraines, rocks, and boulders, 

 heaped up in the forms of ridges and pyramids. In 

 addition to this, the lake sent out long arms and 

 bays like miniature fiords, which it would have been 

 necessary to circumvent. It was evidently better 

 to keep to the higher ground, though the weather 

 was wild and stormy ; nor did he know what a certain 

 prominent wooden beacon signified situated immedi- 

 ately over Hagadalen such is the ignorance of the 

 peasantry in these out-of-the-way districts and which 

 was evidently the point of meeting of the boundaries 

 of Norway, Jemtland, and South Sweden ; moreover, 



though 



Strong as an ox, and ignorant as strong, 



he had never travelled westward as far as the next 

 habitation of human beings. The lower parts of the 

 range were remarkably stony, and hardly a blade of 

 grass was visible. In place of grass the ground was 

 covered with a thick layer of crisp, lemon-coloured 

 moss, which gave a wintry sensation and resembled 

 a coating of yellow snow upon everything far and 

 near. 



