TODAL AND LILLEDAL 177 



of the pools, as the bushes are well cut, have 

 great boulders placed along their sides, from which 

 the angler can cast, passing from one to the other 

 dry-shod in most heights of the water. Fish of 

 fourteen pounds and over have been taken, and 

 five-pounders are quite common. The whole river 

 owes its value, I might almost say its origin, 

 to its present lessor. When he and his associates 

 in the Elverhoi fishings on the Sundal first 

 visited Norway, the Lilledal River was a mere 

 mountain torrent which nobody thought of paying 

 for ; though he and other anglers occasionally on 

 an off-day paid a visit to the few pools near the 

 mouth which were accessible and open, to try for 

 the large sea-trout which were known to run up 

 the stream. Seeing its possibilities Lort Phillips 

 acquired the fishing rights, and then set to work 

 to plan and organise the necessary improvements. 

 The torrent was converted into a series of pools 

 by constructing dams across the stream at fre- 

 quent intervals, and building a great breakwater 

 at the mouth near the sea. This was done in the 

 long Norwegian winter when labour was plentiful 

 and it was easy to move large boulders over the snow 

 on sledges. The river freezes solid in the winter, 

 and the boulders, placed in position then, sink into 

 their proper places when the ice melts in the spring, 

 when a very little additional labour completes the 

 dam. 



What I am here writing of Lilledal is true also 

 of Oxendal, another house on the bank of a small 

 river, built by the same skilful amateur architects 

 and engineers ; but the Lilledal River owes most to 



M 



