The Zoologist— June, 1867. 785 



Varge-backen and over such mosses as the world cannot show else- 

 where, and a kaleidoscope can only faintly express : Iceland and 

 ren-deer mosses in stripes of the purest yellow and most delicate 

 French gray and spotless white lay studded by the jetty black berries 

 of the Empetrura nigrum or " krakling," and the purple bloom of the 

 "blaaber" {Myrlillus), and were relieved by the deep green leaves of 

 the Arctostaphylos, and enlivened by such autumnal gold and scarlet 

 as no painter — not even Turner — dared to paint. To this wonderful 

 carpeting succeeded a wood of silver-barked and fantastic birches and 

 dwarf willows, out of which many a grouse bustled, loudly crowing 

 and showing literally the white feather, though autumn was as yet so 

 little advanced, and the numerous hares yet preserved their summer 

 suit of gray. The mysterious lemming darted from bush to bush, 

 and indeed I could not find that this little wanderer was ever absent 

 from these fjelds, though their periodic migrations draw unwelcome 

 attention to them at irregular intervals, when, urged alike by instinct 

 and necessity, they traverse the country in the fashion of white ants, 

 locusts or Alexander himself. At length we reached the confines of 

 vegetation, which died out in a blaze of lichens and leprarias on the 

 gray transitional rocks, and here we started numerous packs of 

 ptarmigan, to which a pair of magnificent golden eagles immediately 

 attended, though they speedily relinquished the pursuit to enforce 

 their superiority over an audacious buzzard who infringed their 

 manorial rights. We now passed on to the snow, and the snow of 

 August is perpetual ; the elevation was about 4200 feet, but the 

 Guldhopijene, and the Glittertinden sent up their conical shafts of 

 shining snow to an altitude of more than 8000 feet. We were now on 

 Steenfiybraen, and might expect to see ren-deer at any moment. We 

 had not long to wait, a herd of about seventy came leisurely along the 

 slope beneath us : we dropped among the rocks unobserved, and 

 Anders begged us not to fire as they were fully 300 yards distant, and 

 he confidently relied on a successful stalk by a slight detour, but 

 young sportsmen have itching fingers, and soon the report of the 

 Norsk breech-loader carried by Thor drove the whole herd in wild 

 alarm down the steep side of the mountain unharmed. 



Well, I have seen my dog laugh, not heartily perhaps, but unmis- 

 takably, but I incline to believe that no animal but an ape can swear, 

 and with respect to this pleasing art there can be no doubt of the 

 advantage of the human species, and the Norwegian race in particular. 



SECOND SERIES— VOL. II. 2 L 



