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BOATING ON THE FIORDS.
173
hesitated whether to walk along the shore for the first
Norsk mile to a small station marked on the map, and
did not regret taking the boat upon seeing the sort of
ground I must have gone over. It would have been,
not a walk, but a scramble and a struggle through a
pathless and precipitous pine forest: the seven English
miles would have cost at least seven hours of severe
toil.
The luxurious lounging before spoken of was only of
about two hours’ duration, for a storm arose just as we
commenced crossing the wide part of the fiord; the rain
poured heavily, and the wind ahead rendered all oiu’
best efforts at the oar necessary to make any headway
at all. I was surprised at the manner in which so small
and light a boat could weather such a sea; the short
sharp waves were breaking continually, but she shipped
scarcely any.
These boats are cunningly built: the thin strip of
bulwark slopes outwards, instead of rising
perpendicularly, so that a breaking sea catches them underneath;
they jump at it, but scarcely any water comes over.
Nevertheless, had I been alone in such a walnut-shell, I
should have prepared for swimming and run for the
nearest shore; but seeing that the boatmen kept their
course without any uneasiness, I of course was satisfied
that all was safe. After some three hours more of hard
pulling, we got across, and landed at about midnight;
then I found that Bolsaet is merely a boat-house and
some cowsheds, and that Baekkan, the station for
sleeping, is four miles farther on. This was not altogether
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