Whilst a poor soldier was one day crossing a large lake called Stor-sjön, it then being the depth of winter, he was attacked by a drove of wolves. He was armed only with a sword, but with this weapon he defended himself so gallantly, that he not only either killed or wounded several of his assailants, but he succeeded in driving off the remainder.

Some short time afterwards, however, the same drove of wolves again beset him; but he was now unable to extricate himself from his perilous situation in the same manner as before; for when he laid his hand upon his sabre, and attempted to draw it, he found it firmly frozen into the scabbard. This was in consequence of his having neglected to wipe the blood from the blade after the desperate conflict in which he had been engaged. It is almost needless to add, that as he was then defenceless, the ferocious beasts quickly killed and devoured him.

CHAPTER VII.

Elg.--Anecdotes.

On the 31st of December we had twelve degrees of cold at sunrise; the following day, the commencement of the new year, about an inch of snow fell in the vicinity of my quarters.

On the succeeding morning, Wednesday the 2nd of January, I was much gratified by a visit from an old and faithful follower of mine from Brunberg, a hamlet situated in the wilds of the forest, at some thirty miles to the north-east of Lapp cottage; I was still more pleased, however, when he gave me the agreeable intelligence that he had a bear, which he supposed to be of a large size,"ringed" in the vicinity of that place.

This man's real name was Henrick Mattsson. He had been in the army, where, to prevent the confusion that would naturally arise from few or none of the common soldiers having surnames, fictitious ones are generally given to them-such as the names of animals, birds, trees, &c.; for this

reason, he had been dubbed Elg, or Elk, by which appellation he was only known throughout the country; and by such, therefore, I shall hereafter designate him.

He was a peasant, and descended from Finnish ancestors, and was possessed of a small and poor farm in the vicinity of Brunberg: this he had either wholly or in part reclaimed from the forest by his individual exertions.

He was one of twelve children; nearly the whole of whom lived until arrived at man's estate but he was now left in the wide world with only a single brother, all the rest of his family, including his father and mother, being dead.

This was a sad mortality to take place in one family, from natural causes; though such, in many instances, was doubtless owing to the want of proper medical advice, of which, as I have said, there was a sad deficiency in the interior parts of the country.

He was in the prime of life, not being at this time more than about thirty-five years of age: though short in person, he was of a stout and robust make, and able to undergo great fatigue. Though nearly unlearned, he was a most intelligent man, and possessed of much better information than many who might be called his betters. Among his other capabilities, he was a capital shot with his rifle, and an excellent runner upon snow

skates, of which implements I shall presently have occasion to speak.

I enter thus into particulars, as he was my constant attendant during the remainder of this particular season, as well as on other occasions ; and a more faithful and honest creature, which his countenance plainly indicated, or a better behaved man, I never met with in my life.

Elg had been accessary at the death of eighteen or twenty bears, many of which he had shot with his own gun. He had never been wounded by any of those animals, though, in the instance I am about to relate, he had incurred some degree of danger.

When he was only twelve years of age, and when residing with his father at Brunberg, the family were one night disturbed by the cattle, which were penned immediately near to the house; from the noise these made, it was pretty evident that an unwelcome visitor was among them.

One of Elg's brothers, hearing this, jumped out of bed, when, catching up a gun that happened to be loaded, he ran out of doors, undressed as he was, to see what was the matter. The cause was soon explained, for he found the uproar to have arisen from the presence of an enormous bear, who had just helped himself to a goat, with which he was then in the act of making off. The man now fired; but though the

beast was desperately wounded in the side, he was still enabled to make good his retreat.

The next morning, Elg, in company with two of his brothers, both of whom were grownup men, and of course many years older than himself, went in pursuit of the bear. They had not proceeded more than four or five hundred paces into the forest, which immediately skirted the few enclosures about the house, when a dog they had along with them challenged to the beast in some long grass, at about one hundred paces distance. The animal was at this time lying upon the ground, and they therefore thought he was almost dead. When, however, they had approached to within about thirty paces of him, he suddenly reared himself up, and partly swung himself round; but whether this was done with the intention of attacking them, or making his escape, they of course had no means of ascertaining.

On this, Elg and one of his brothers, the other from some cause not having the opportunity, fired, when both of their balls, as it afterwards appeared, took effect; Elg's in the hind-quarters of the animal, where, from its small size, it could have done little injury, and his brother's in the shoulder; where, coming in contact with the bone, it flattened, and was equally inefficacious.

On receiving his wounds, the enraged brute instantly dashed at the party;-Elg, in his fright,