only slightly wounded him, the beast spun round with the rapidity of a tetotum, when, uttering a terrible growl, he with distended jaws was in the act of dashing towards me; but his career was soon at an end, for taking a snap shot with the other barrel, I had the good fortune to split his skull open, on which he instantly fell dead on the
It was well that my last bullet told properly, or I should have been in an awkward predicament, as now that my gun was discharged, I was without weapon of any kind, and Elg was a long distance in the background.
We were fortunate in putting the beast hors de combat thus early in the day, for in the course of an hour afterwards the snow, from the effects of the sun and the mildness of the temperature, adhered in such quantities to our skidor, that we could only get along at a snail's pace. Had we not destroyed the animal, indeed, on this occasion, I am very doubtful whether, owing to the unfavourable state of the weather and snow, we should have been able to run him down upon our skidor during the remainder of the season.
We soon lighted a fire to dry our clothes, which were well saturated with wet from profuse perspiration; and when we were rejoined by Svensson, which was not until an hour or more afterwards, for during the chase he had broken one of his skidor, we skinned and cut up the bear.
He was an enormous fellow, but we had no means of ascertaining his weight, as the part of the forest where he breathed his last was far distant from any habitation.
Agriculture, encouraged and improving in Sweden, i. 10
Agricultural instruments in use in Elfvedal, i. 323
Aminoff, Mrs., one of the most beautiful women in Sweden,
i. 339
Angling, good below the Cataracts of the Göta at Trollhättan,
i. 351
Ant-hills, sometimes enormous, ii. 35; lairs for bears, ibid.
Antiquities, few relics in Sweden, i. 14
Arboga, population and situation, ii. 193
Army of Sweden, divisions, ii. 210; militia, 212; conscription,
ibid.; of Norway, 305; Skielöbere, 306
Art, science and literature in Sweden, i. 8
Aspberg, situation, ii. 269; importance, 270; distance from
church, ibid.; circumstances of peasants, 271; amusements,
ibid.
Author, the, taken for the son of the ex-King of Sweden, and
afterwards for a spy, i. 121.
Badgers, (Gräfvin) numerous in Sweden, i. 84; ii. 156; habits
of, 157; dogs should not fight, 158; hunting, ibid.; fat,
flesh, skin, 159; traps for, ibid.
Baptism, zeal of the peasants for its administration to their new-
born children, i. 67
Barclay, Mr. Alexander, a British merchant at Gothenburg,
Bark-bread, not often used in Sweden, i. 67
Batsta, surrounding scenery, ii. 268
Bear, (Björn) as numerous in Wermeland and Dalecarlia as in
other parts of Sweden, i. 85; only the brown, 91; the white
bear peculiar to the polar regions ibid.; the small black bear
not found in Scandinavia, 92; the Scandinavian bear de-
scribed, habits, &c. 93; good swimmers, 102; live to fifty
years old, 103; the size and weight to which they attain,
ibid.; their strength, 105; their mode of attack and de-
fence, 106; curious remark of a Swedish hunter, 107;
skall, or bear-hunt, see skall; ringing the bear, see ring-
ing; one killed with a single blow by a lion, 174; a
peasant nearly killed by one in a skall, 206; a soldier
scalped by one, 219; a conflict between a bear and a wo-
man in a skall, 221; little effect of musket bullets upon
bears, 225; driven from their haunts in the mountains sepa-
rating Sweden and Norway, by the hostile armies, during the
late war, 227; young bears escape their pursuers by climb-
ing trees, 229; anecdotes of a heifer carried away by a
bear, 266; of a woman nearly killed by one, 270; of a
peasant overpowered by one, ibid.; of a woman killed and
eaten by one, 272; of a fight between a bull and a bear,
ibid.; of an accident in a bear-skall, 273; of a peasant
keeping a bear at bay, 274; of the fury of the she-bear in
avenging her cubs, ibid.; of bears attacked by troops of
wolves, 277; sometimes killed by them, 278; the bear a
match for a great number of wolves, were his hind quarters
defended, ibid.; seldom to be killed in summer, except in
skalls, 279; retires to winter-quarters in November, ii. 7;
one ringed near Salje, escaped, 9; a she-bear with cubs
ringed near Tönnet, escaped, 10; combat with, 11; mode
of defence, 13; of attack, 14; combat with, ibid.; small balls
unfit to shoot them, 15; superstitious anecdote, 26; manner
of attacking horses, 27; wounds cattle dreadfully, 30; silence
necessary in the pursuit, 34; how traced, 35; carpets his
lair with pine-branches, ibid.; quiet when hunters stand
over the den, 41; killing one, ibid.; the mother lies in front
of her den, 42; prepares winter-quarters in autumn, 43;
den of the mother and her cubs very small, ibid.; destructive
to cattle, 45; when skinned, resembles man, ibid.; flesh ex-
cellent, 47; method of skinning, ibid.; size, how measured,
48; men who ring one entitled to him, 48; anecdote of a
remarkably large one, 92; wounds most dangerous to him in
summer, 96; anecdotes, 97, 98; fatal part for shooting, 99;
one ringed near Salje, 104; escaped, 108; bargain for pos-
session, 113; pine broken by one, 114; shooting from gälls,
|