10 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



with our balancing reindeer, it was desperately diffi- 

 cult to keep from capsizing ; and as, from the number 

 of trees and stones in the way at the beginning, it 

 was dangerous to put out the arm, the poolk was as 

 often uppermost as undermost. I, for my part, caught 

 myself inwardly cursing my folly in having suffered 

 myself to be inveigled into taking part in such a jour- 

 ney ; and I began to heartily wish myself back in my 

 old quarters at Bosekop. Some consolation, however, 

 there was in the fact that I would be sure to find a 

 surgeon only 150 miles further on, Avhich was a 

 guarantee that mortification of any possible wounds 

 would not have had time to set in before obtaining 

 medical aid. 



After having driven pretty evenly for about seven 

 miles, we came to the limits of civilisation in the 

 shape of the last hut between Bosekop and Karasjok. 

 Here several of us received the information from our 

 wapoos that henceforth we were to drive alone ; and 

 before we were able to protest, the single rein was 

 cast round and round our hand, and we were left to 

 our fate. Being entirely ignorant what to do, I 

 trusted wholly to Providence and my deer, and with- 

 out daring to tighten the rein, allowed the animal to 

 take its own way, which it did very properly and 

 calmly. 



The forstmester was not so fortunate. He had 

 received a fast and very hot-headed brute, which, 

 immediately on discovering that it had an extra load 



