CHAPTER XII
SPORT IN NORWAY, 1891–1911: ELK, BEAR AND REINDEER
In 1891 I made my first trip to Norway, mainly on the advice of Mr. E.N. Buxton, whose delightful book, Short Stalks, had first opened my eyes to the comparatively new sport of elk hunting. A few Englishmen had discovered the possibilities of the chase of this splendid beast, which, owing to the close time which had been established, had become com¬ paratively common in the two provinces or “ amts ” of North and South Trondhjem. Though I missed the best period, which was between about 1880 and 1890, I was fortunate in finding a magnificent tract of country, which at that time had only been hunted by the natives, and was quite unspoilt by tourists. I first went over in June and made the acquaintance of Peter Norbye, a well-to-do farmer who lived at Selbo about thirty miles from Trondhjem, and who for several years afterwards was my companion and guide in the district. On his advice and with his help I rented from the peasant farmers the whole of the elk hunting-rights in the valley of Tydal, which extended from Selbo right up to the high fjelds on the Swedish frontier. According to the Norwegian law each proprietor has the right to kill one elk, or, in the case of very large farms, two elks, during the season, which then lasted only from September 1st till September 30th in South Trondhjem, and for ten days later in North Trondhjem.
We drove up the Tydal valley, forty-eight kilometres, to the principal centre at Ostby and there met a number of the farmers, who agreed to let me the whole of the rights, forty-two in number, for three years at the price of 1,200 kroner, and I must say that they carried out their part of the bargain most honourably, and did everything in their power to make our tenancy agreeable and successful. Besides the rights at Tydal, I also took a number in the parish of Selbo, so that if we were driven down by snow from the upper valley there might be ample room for a large party in the lower-lying fjelds and forest.
My late friend, William Cripps, agreed to go shares with me, and about the middle of August we set out with our wives and children, making a party of ten, with a handyman as servant. I succeeded in getting two setters smuggled over in one of the Hull steamers, so that we might have some ryper shooting before the elk hunting began, and we arrived at Lovoen, which is a large farm in upper Tydal, a week after starting. Here we made our headquarters for a time in a large comfortable farmhouse belonging to Lars Lovoen, an elderly farmer who rented an immense tract of fjeld from an institute in Trondhjem, and had a good deal of barter with the Lapps who pastured their reindeer in the higher mountains, and whose headquarters are at Roros, thirty miles to the south-east.
We had an excellent Norwegian cook, and lived well and comfortably at Lovoen, which is about 2,000 feet above sea-level and near the limit of forest. The sport during August consisted of excellent trout fishing
and fair ryper shooting, and the surroundings were delightful. There
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