The famous Dannemora mines, which produce the best Bessemer ore in the world, have been worked continuously since 1481. It is one of the most valuable and extensive iron deposits in the world, and resembles those of Lake Superior. The area of ore already located covers 12,500 square meters.[m]
CHAPTER XIV
HIGHWAYS, RAILWAYS, AND WATERWAYS
Since the sixteenth century Norway has had an excellent public posting system which enables the traveler to go to the most remote parts of the country at moderate and fixed rates. Fast and slow posting stations are established by the government along all the national highways. At the former, horses must be kept in readiness; whereas, at the latter, the horses may be in distant fields at work, and a couple of hours may elapse before the traveler can proceed upon his journey. The rates, which are determined by the government, are, from fast stations, about seven cents a mile for a horse and two-wheeled conveyance or sledge; but from slow stations they are scarcely more than half that price. When the road is over very steep mountains, an extra fare is charged, usually double; but this is a government regulation and is always understood. The posting stations are, for the most part, isolated and solitary farms. The farmers undertake to provide rooms and meals, as well as drivers, horses, and conveyances. Stations are usually from seven to fifteen miles apart, and farmers are required to convey the traveler only as far as the next station.
Two kinds of wagons are used, the carriole and the stolkjaerre. The carriole resembles an American sulky, except that it is springless, and nearly the entire weight is forward of the axle. It is a two-wheeled gig with the body shaped like the bowl of a spoon. The seat, in front of the axletree, is fastened by cross-pieces to the long, slender shafts that project behind and provide a place for light luggage and a seat for the driver. The carriole is for one passenger. It is falling into disuse, and its place is being taken by the stolkjaerre, a two-wheeled cart that will carry two passengers. It also has long shafts which extend under the axletree to make a support for the luggage and a seat for the driver. The passenger's seat is in front, perched on two wooden bars stretched obliquely upwards and backwards from the front of the vehicle. The drivers, usually men although sometimes girls, vary in age from six to sixty years.
The Norwegian horses are stout, stubby, and spirited little beasts. They are cream-colored, high crested, and have black manes and tails; the manes are cropped, except the forelocks, which are left to protect the eyes from the sun, and the tails are very full. Horses are valued in Norway by the size and fullness of their tails. These little animals are so trustworthy and intelligent that tourists, as well as peasants, soon get to look upon them as companions. In every "skyds-station," as the posting stations are called, in a conspicuous place is posted this inscription: Vaer god mod hesten. This means "be good to the horse." At every station there is also a book, called the skydsbog, in which travelers are requested to write their names and any complaints they may have to make regarding their treatment. At intervals these books are examined by government officials.
Swedish horses are much larger than those of Norway, tall, heavy, with long legs and barrel-shaped bodies, very much like Canadian stock. They drive well, make good speed, and will eat anything. At the livery stables one can hire outfits by the day or hour—the legal price being 63 cents an hour or 56 cents to any point within the city limits, and there is an excellent cab system, with what is known as the "taxameter" register. Every cab is equipped with an arrangement similar to a gas meter, which shows on a dial the money due, whether you are using it by the hour or by the distance. The hackman sets his clock at zero at the time of starting, according to the number of passengers or whether he is hired by time or distance, and it ticks away while you ride or while he waits. The fare for one or two persons is sixty-two cents per hour; for three persons, eighty-seven cents an hour; for four persons, $1.24 and a tip to the driver anywhere from one cent to fifteen cents, according to the time he has been with you. The public posting system outside of the cities is similar to that of Norway.
The national government builds the main highways, while the cross roads are built by the parishes. The management is in the hands of a bureau in the national department of public works, and the maintenance falls upon the people who live in the neighborhood, under the supervision of a local inspector. Every farmer has a piece of road to take care of, according to the amount of land he owns, and at intervals slabs of cast iron are erected bearing his name and the section of the road he is to keep in order. Thus every man's reputation is at stake in the neighborhood, and if there is a muddy place or a rut, everybody knows who is to blame for it, and it can not be laid to the county commissioner, as is the case in America. On the outside of each road is a line of large blocks of stone set upright, which serves as a barrier to prevent wagons from going off into the ditch. There are 6,500 miles of main highway, and 11,000 miles of cross-road, or a total of 17,500 miles of roads in Norway, and the total expenditure upon them by national and local authorities will average a million and a half dollars every year.
The first cost of a road is usually about $3,000 a mile. They first dig an excavation about three feet deep, as if they were going to make a canal. On the bottom are thrown heavy blocks of stone through which the water can filter, and occasionally there is a little drain to carry it off. Upon this is a layer of smaller stones, and then still smaller, until the surfacing is reached, which is macadam of pounded slate, mixed with gravel and stone.
During the winter the farmers have to keep their several sections free from snow, but to do this it is necessary for them to co-operate, for it would be impossible for one family to handle the heavy plows that are necessary. Six, eight, and ten horses are often hitched to them—all the horses in the neighborhood—and it is often the work of weeks instead of days to get the roads opened up for travel, but when it is once done, it is as clear and smooth for sleighs as a city boulevard.