A Comparison of Norway and Sweden 429 



sometimes possible to avoid them by run- 

 ning to one side, as they are usually, at 

 least during the summer season, of lim- 

 ited extent, though following a some- 

 what erratic track. 



Although alarming and even danger- 

 ous to a vessel in the midst of one of 

 these rips, it is a grand sight when the 

 water comes tumbling over the bows and 

 sides, throwing the spray over bridge 

 and tossing the ship about like a cockle- 

 shell. 



It is hardly conceivable that a small 

 launch or a whaleboat could live through 

 one of these tide rips — even a small 

 steamer would have a strenuous time 

 of it. 



The tide rips in Akutan and Unalga 

 passes occur most frequently during 

 spring tides, after the current has begun 

 to run strong and when the wind is op- 

 posed to the current, but the opposing 

 wind is not an essential element, as they 

 sometimes occur during calm weather, 

 when the sea is elsewhere perfectly 

 smooth. It is safe to go through these 

 passes at slack tide. 



Aquatic birds, chiefly of one species, 



are abundant. Sometimes, more par- 

 ticularly in thick weather, we steamed 

 through miles of them, and the noise as 

 they rose from the sea, beating the water 

 with their wings, was deafening. We 

 had some of these birds prepared for the 

 mess, but did not find them palatable. 



Food fish of good quality are plenti- 

 ful, but only in particular localities. 

 We never failed of a good catch in En- 

 glish or Codfish bays. 



Whales are frequently seen, sometimes 

 in large schools. It was an interesting 

 sight, one day, watching a dozen large 

 whales feeding in a small bight at Egg 

 Island, rolling over and over, evidently 

 chasing a school of fish, which were 

 frantically leaping from the shallow 

 water along shore. 



The impression upon the visitor to this 

 region is one of grandeur, barrenness, 

 and loneliness. There are no trees or 

 bushes and rarely is there a glimpse of 

 animal life other than aquatic. Once or 

 twice we saw a ptarmigan or a fox ; more 

 often an eagle perched on a lofty crag 

 added emphasis to the sense of loneliness 

 and isolation. 



A COMPARISON OF NORWAY AND 



SWEDEN 



RECENT events in the Scandina- 

 vian Peninsula lend interest to 

 statistics just compiled in the 

 Bureau of Statistics of the Department 

 of Commerce and Labor regarding the 

 population, comparative resources, and 

 industries of Sweden and Norway, as 

 well as their commerce with the United 

 States and other countries. Sweden and 

 Norway have a combined area of 297,006 

 square miles, about equal to that of 

 Texas and the Indian Territory. Their 

 population is 7,484,301, practically the 

 same as that of the state of New York. 

 The area of Sweden is about 40 per cent 



more than that of Norway, the territo- 

 rial extent of the two countries being 

 172,876 square miles and 124, 130 square 

 miles respectively. 



Notwithstanding less favorable natu- 

 ral conditions, such as the poverty of the 

 soil, about 75 per cent of which is un- 

 productive, and a rigorous climate in the 

 larger part of the country, also a rela- 

 tively larger emigration, the population 

 in Norway increases faster than in Swe- 

 den. Thus, the population of Sweden 

 increased, between 1893 an d I 9°3> from 

 4,824,150 to 5,221,291, or 8.2 per cent, 

 while that of Norway grew from 2,032,- 



