30 N ’A T U .R A L E d S T O R Y ' H JV -Û RW A T.
long on die ground, deftr-oys thuulândsof young trees i like-;
wife when it Jails iate :in .the spring,• and after die trees -begin to'
put.out their leases, which, iipwever, happens ueryjraa-ely, fome:
trees, and efpecially .the alders, either and die ; -a prognoftic of
which is.the leaves .turning to a brownifli hue. Tt has heeniknown,
and particularly in the year *742, many people -were eye-witnefies
pf it, that -a fpeefes of black -maggots fell along with the ditow,
whereby extreme .damage was done to -the -grain and pafture. But
among the mifdttiefs occasioned by 4 »w, the greatest are the
snw-feHs. Snee-lkreed; or Snee-fond,; that is, whenamdfs of fcdwy Jailing
from a precipice, overwhelms both men .and .cattle1, Queriets feoats
iii the lakes *, and, which1 is hut top often the cafe, demoiifhes
cottages and hordes, infoiytuch that.èven. whole vMtegps' are horn
down, crulhed, and totally deftroyed; hut this laft cakmity is
rather ap efcdt of the incredible violence of the wind, driving
on the maflès of fnow, whep they begin to. : give way , than
of thofe malles themfelves, hobfes J a a v f c g l® « ! ' J a i l feme
feffyds before theihow had reaeked them. Thefe feow--fal}s are
of two kinds; the firft, when In frofty weather the light f e w is
fuddenly let in motion, and. in kslprogrefe fcatteted over all the
côuptry, which the peaiants call Med-fopd, and is not attended
with fitch damages as the other, which is- known by the n-arne of
Kremfond; thefc happen, when by the mills and r-ains in fpring,
the fiiow, which by moifture is Cenfoliifetddj ^lls in a niais,
which, tho’ flower in its de-fcent, leaves ftronger imprefliops on
tfie fides.of the mountains, bearing down every thing in ks way,
even the ftrongeft new buildings.
a wiwie pa- By a the firft kind, a wholeparifh, fituate between
^toamthe Quindherret and Hardanger, à century op two ago (for the pre-
cife time is not certainly known) was wholly covered, and fo re-
* Thefeaccidents it feems are not unknown in Switzerland : c4 Souvent il tombe
du haut des montagnes des mafîès de neige •prodigieufes, quefesalfema^appelleiît
Lawinen et les Romains Avelanches, qui tomjb'ant avec împer.uofîté,.. font un bruit
auffi grand que celui du tonnere. Non Seulement elles enveloppent gens et betes,
mais elles entraînent et emportent des arbres, et des maifons entières.. Le.poete Glau-
dien qui vivoit au iv liecle, nous apprend qu’on connoiffoit. déjà- cesr choies de fon
teins : •'
■ i..,.. — multos haufere profundæ
Vafta mole hives, cumque ipfis fæpe'|uvëhcis
Naufraga candenti merguntqr plauflra Barathro ;
Interdum fubitam glacie labente ruinani ’
Mons dédit, &c. Delices de la Suiffe, Tom. 1 p. 27.
mains
N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y of N O R W A Y . 31
mains® to this day; klie ipow ;which had thus fallen from the adjacent
mountains;, • not diflolying the yeatr after, was further gradually
inereafed, and hardened by lying, the fituation being high,
and hemmed in among the mountains. Many lives were loft in
this dilalter, of which no memorial would remain, were not the
truth of the ftory, which was' at firft much doubted, ftill confirmed
by feveral Utenfils, as-fciflars, knives, bafons, &c. brought
to light by a rivulet which rubs under the lhow; an inconteftable-
evidence that this, fpot was formerly clear of fiiow, and inhabited.
Such dilafters, God be praifed, are feldom heard of; and the perpetual
fnows which always cover the ftimmits of the higheft mountains,
may, notwithstanding,; be juftly laid to be rather neceflary
and advantageous, than abfoluteiy detrimental; and thus may be
reckoned among the blcflings of providence. Experience filcnces
all -cavils on this head, the {now being known, by age, to become
fofirm arid indurated, that a horfc’s Ihoe makes no imprel-
fion on itj and as.it yields Very gradually to the fun, it is thus Ipar-
ingly difpenfed for the daily benefit of the inhabitants beneath,
except in a' damp fouthedy wind, which penetrating the {how*
the mountains pour down whole torrents. Thefe accumulated
fiioWs thus become coriflant Iprings for promoting vegetation in
the champaign grounds, and when thefe iprings are too early ex-
haufted, the grafs and corn inevitably fuller, and are ibmetimes
withered for want of moifture. Another convenience of thefe currents,
and fikewife of their impetuous defcent, is, that they drive
great numbers Of little mills; every farm-houfe * having its own
ndll. A third advantage of them redounds to the oxen, cows,
fheep, and goats,- which in fummer are turned out upon the
mountains for pafture, where they are fo extremely tormented with
die heat,- with gnats and mulketoes, that they run about regard-
lefs of danger, and in this frenzy many have loft their lives, falling
down the precipicesthis lays the peaiants under a necef-
fity, where no Ikow is near, of building flickering places for the
■ Cattle; but if any fnow-hill be in'light, the cattle move towards
* In the eaftern p ro v in g pHich are leffit mountainous, the people niot only I*:
tour.-unaet1 a-great fcarcity of \7aterv-but'in1 feveral parts,, the mills are at a- great
«diftanhe 5 but this evil might remedied, if hanging -wheels were ufed iriftead of
fixed onftii there are but few p&ces where a fufficient watfer might pot be found for
thofe, which require ib .ttiOCh lefs than the others' now iri ufe.
... P a r t I. K it^