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rying on their necessary avocations in the forest, or elsewhere.

The inhabitants of Aspberg, as at many other Finnish settlements in the Northern forests, had their skidor backe, or skidor-hill. On Sunday afternoon, or other holidays, the people both old and young, male and female, might here be seen congregated in considerable numbers, amusing themselves with gliding down the declivity. As this hill, however, independently of inequalities, was rather precipitous, it required both management and skill to make the descent properly. Children of a very tender age were not unfrequently thus occupied. This constant practice from infancy naturally makes the peasants proficients in the use of their skidor.

At Aspberg, we took up our quarters with the father of our peasants, a fine old man of about seventy years of age: as I got a tolerable room to myself, and as I was provided with my blankets, sheets, &c. I had little to complain of, in regard to accommodation.

My host, as seemed indeed to be generally the case with the peasants hereabout, was in comfortable circumstances; though his farm probably produced less grain than was required for the consumption of his household, he was tolerably rich in cattle; as a proof of this, he numbered thirteen cows in full milk at this very time; and he had a proportionate stock of sheep, goats, &c.

CHAPTER XX.

Aspberg Bear.

A LITTLE before sunrise, on the succeeding morning, Saturday the 15th of March, the weather being delightfully fine, we set out on our skidor to attack the bear, of which we had come so far in pursuit. This was ringed at the foot of a range of rather lofty hills, situated to the south-east of Aspberg.

There were four of us on this occasion: Elg and myself, and the two peasants who had accompanied us to that place on the preceding evening. Neither of the latter, by my desire, were armed with any thing besides their axes. We took Paijas along with us.

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In all this part of the country, the ground was covered with snow to the depth of about four feet. A great part of this had fallen in the early part of the winter. From having been so long upon the ground, it had attained a much greater degree of consistency than was the case farther to the southward, and in consequence was in very

tolerable order for our skidor. In point of fact, indeed, instead of the latter being buried for a foot or more in the snow, at almost every step we took, as was generally the case during our recent expedition into Dalecarlia, they now only sank a very few inches below its surface.

Though the snow was in a rather favourable state as regarded ourselves, its surface had not obtained that compactness to support the weight of such an animal as a bear. For this reason, we thought it probable that, were we to succeed in rousing the beast, even though we were not fortunate enough to destroy him in his den, we might eventually be able to come up with him by means of our dog and skidor.

As we were careless, nevertheless, of throwing away a chance, when we reached the ring, which was of no very considerable extent, we thought it best in the first instance to search it in our usual silent manner; we thus hoped to be enabled to steal upon the bear before he had the opportunity of leaving his winter quarters.

Owing to the depth of the snow, which made us apprehensive of passing over the animal, we on this occasion so far deviated from our common plan, as to slip Paijas from his couplings.

We were the less apprehensive of adopting this step, as we were very certain the dog would not range far ahead, for the reasons I have already given; we besides entertained great hopes that,

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even if he should be the first to come upon the bear, the beast would not leave the den until we had time to get up to the spot. This was more likely to be the case from the quantity of snow that was then upon the ground, as at such times these animals usually lie much closer than at others.

I now ordered Elg to keep at four or five paces to my right, and the peasants to follow in our tracks; thus, for several hours, we beat the most tangled brakes within the ring: but we could not succeed in meeting with the object of our search.

At between twelve and one o'clock therefore we halted, when, spreading the contents of our kit upon the ground, we regaled ourselves upon such homely viands as it contained; and these we enjoyed with the greater relish, from our walk having given us a good appetite. Here we rested for about an hour and half, and then resumed the search, in the same manner as before.

Nearly up to this period the snow had been in very tolerable order for our skidor; but from the day being rather mild and bright, such parts of its surface as were exposed to the rays of the sun had now become partially thawed, and, in consequence, it fastened in such masses upon those implements, that we could no longer move with any thing like facility. Instead, therefore, of the gliding kind of movement with which the action of the skidor is usually accompanied, we were

now obliged either wholly or partially to lift them from the ground at almost every step. In addition to this, we were necessitated to strike them continually with the sticks we carried in our hands, that the sudden jar might shake off the snow that was adhering to them.

This being the case, we should have acted wisely if we had given up all farther search for that day; for, unless we were fortunate enough to kill the bear in his den, there was little or no chance, if he was once on foot, of our being able to come up with him. As however we had at this time gone over near two-thirds of the ring, we began to be apprehensive that the animal might not be within it: to ascertain that point, therefore, we determined to beat out the remainder.

But our fears on this head were groundless; for scarcely a quarter of an hour had elapsed, after we had finished our repast, and when we were in a very thick brake, before Paijas began to challenge; he was a little in the rear of us, the softness of the snow hardly permitting him to get along, but he soon pushed rapidly ahead. My gun was at this time loose in my hand, and as I knew it was the bear the dog had scent of, I lost not a moment in following upon his track: but I had not taken more than a few steps, when I saw the game of which we were in quest bolt from his lair, at about fifteen paces ahead of me. I had, however, the merest glimpse possible; so

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