1804.] 
prefent no forefts growing in the imme- 
diate vicinity of Roeraas. But it appears 
from the roots fill remaining, that this 
tract of country was in former times co- 
vered with pines and firs. The lakes 
near Roeraas abound in fithes of various 
{pecies ;—falmons, trouts, perches, gray- 
lings, &c. On the 12th of July, 1678, 
the Swedes: befieged Roeraas, and com- 
mitted great devattation over this whole 
territory. As a defence againft any fu- 
ture incurfions of the Swedes, the Govern- 
ment has armed the miners, and formed 
a corpfe under the appellation of /kieleu- 
fers, or foldiers who run upon {now-fhoes 
or {kates. ‘The {kates or {now-fhoes are 
made of fir, and partly covered with a 
piece of reindeer’ fkin, that has the hair 
upon it. Thefe fkates are three or tour 
ells long: and the fkait for the left foot 
is longer than that for the right. The 
fkaters are the light troops of the coun- 
try: they run whether on plains, or up 
and down hills with incredible fwitenefs. 
At no great diltance from Reeraas, are 
families of genuine Laplanders, or, as they 
are there called, Finns. They live in tents ; 
not ftopping in any one place longer than 
they can there find nourifhment for their 
cattle. They oblige théir wives to ac in the 
inferiority of fervants. Their whole wealth 
confilts in their reindeer. Their condition 
of life is extremely miferable : and yet they 
are very much attached to it. Some of 
them fend their children to be baptized 
and educated in the Chriftian religion at 
Reeraas. As Roeraas is not far from the 
borders of Sweten ; its inhabitants carry 
on fome {mugeling trade with the Swedes; 
to whom they furnith coffee, brandy, and 
other articles, in Sweden, either under pro- 
hibition or loaded with exorbitant taxes ; 
receiving in return wrought iron and cop. 
per, pelcries, caforcum, and {ome other 
articles. The Copper mine at Reeraas is 
of the grea‘eft importance. Jt was dif. 
covered in the year 1644, by a Laplander 
following fome reindcer. His portrait is 
fil] to be feen in the town-church.: The 
mine long furnithed annually 600 ton of 
copper. Its whole produce from 1644 to 
1778 was more than twenty-two milfions 
of rixdoilars in value. The fhares in the 
ftock of the Compiny were in 1778, at 
z00 rixdoljars each —At Engn, the refi- 
dence of Mr. Jordt, Direétor of the Mines, 
Mr. Fabric.us had opportunity to ob- 
ferve the contrivance of fpreading dung 
beneath the floor of the ftalls for the 
cattle, to mitigate the exceffive cold, by 
which thefe were liable to be affeéted in 
winter, It is remarkable, that on the 
Travels in Norway, by Ff. €. Fabricius. 
113 
heights encompaffing the valley of Thy- 
dablen, at the diftance of fomewhat 
more than thirty miles from Roeraas, fome 
veftiges of tillage are now to be feen. The 
inhabitants regard thefe as proofs that 
the climate of Norway was anciently 
milder than it is at prefent; for, thofe 
heights are now fo cold as to be entirely 
uninhabitable. They fuppofe, that ever 
fince the depopulation ot the country by 
peftilence, in the fourteenth century, the 
climate has been continually becoming 
colder, and has thus hindered many parts 
from being repcopled, which were before 
abundantly inhabited. The copper-ore 
of Reeraas is a pyrites. It is piled in 
large heaps, whicn are left to burn for 
eight or ten weeks fucceffively. The 
foundery ftands in a low fituation conti- 
guous to the heaps. The roafted ore 
is tranfmitted by a particular paffage 
from the heaps into the foundery. The 
foundery contains eight fufing furnaces, 
and two refining furnaces, all arrang- 
ed in one row, The ore is fufed in 
the fix fufing furnaces; in the other two 
it is refined to black copper. The copper 
is not above two hours together in the re- 
fining furnace. The mines lie in a direc- 
tion between north and eaft, and at a mile’s 
diftance from the town of Roeraas. The 
moft confiderable of them has the name 
of Storwaad/grube. The rock is fchiftus 
intermixed with mica, quartz, black 
fchorl, and garnets. The vein of ore runs 
in a direction between north and fouth. 
Our travellers proceeded from Roeraas 
to Hoff, where they again faw fields ia 
tillage. It is only on the fides of the hills 
expojed to the meridian heat of the fun, 
that coin is fown about Hoff And, even 
with this advantage, the grain does not 
in every feafon coine to full ripenefs, 
July rgth, they continued their journey 
from Hoff to Groed. By the way they 
paffed people of the country, who were 
d:iving horfes loaded with copper toDront- 
heim. Atnight, they take of the loads, 
tie fmall beils to the necks of the horfes, 
and then allow them to feed without re- 
fraint among the rocks or in the woods, 
The drivers thenifelves fleep under the 
trees upon their horfe furniture. On their 
return from Drontheim, the horfes are 
Joaded with cora and cther commodities 
for confumption at Roeraas. Tne pay- 
ment to the carrier for himfelf the his 
horfe, is for each journey 1 rixdollar, 
About feven miles from Hoff is the 
mine of Dragaajhitte, where about 60 tong 
of black copper are annually prepared, 
The ore is partly brought from Koeraas, 
partly 
