154 
THE AMERICAN-SCANDIN AVIAN REVIEW 
A Graceful Birch on the Bjornstad “Tun” Shades the Corner Between the Old 
“Aarestue” and the House where the Head of the Family Lived 
stands there, it is the growth of centuries. The old aarestue (substi¬ 
tuted for the original one which was burned) lies side by side with a 
comparatively magnificent two-story house of 1775, the borne of the 
head of the family. Everything that belonged to a big wealthy gaard 
is there, even to the flour-mill by the brook and the smithy at some 
distance, and of course the stabur with hams and flat-bread of an age 
that I hesitate to set down. 
A tiny crofter’s hut deeper in the forest throws into relief the 
splendor of Bjornstad gaard, and while we are exploring this part of 
the collection, we shall come upon a quaint little ferry-house, where 
the ferry-man lived, and where he could sit looking out over the stream 
while he waited for travellers in need of his services. It must have been 
a pleasanter life than that of a Manhattan ticket-chopper at South 
Ferry. A counterfeiter’s outfit in a hollow tree is another curiosity, 
and, needless to say, there are numerous stills for converting the humble 
potato into a more stimulating product. 
Dr. Sandvig has aimed to assemble everything that pertained to 
the life of the people in bygone days. The houses of worship naturally 
occupied an important place, and of these the collection has three, each 
unique in its way. The Isum chapel is no doubt the only well preserved 
