History of the Scottish expedition to Norway in 1612Michell, Thomas
History
History of the Scottish expedition to Norway in 1612
Michell, Thomas
Norway -- History -- Scottish Expedition, 1612
When the Scots got to the head of the Romsdal valley, they did not
dare to keep to the road any further, and being afraid of passing
the Björnekleven (the "Bears' Cliff"), they took to the mountains.
They probably came down again at the farm of Eneboe,[74] in Lessö,
Gudbrandsdalen. There is a post at that farm on which the date 1612
is said to have been cut as a memorial of somebody that had been
killed there by the Scots. When they got thence to the farm of
Skauge, they found that the owner and all the other inhabitants had
fled, except the owner's grandmother, who thought she had nothing to
fear on account of her advanced age. The Scots killed the old woman
and burned the farm. A little to the south of that farm is a plain
which was and still is called Mærrasletten, where they encamped and
rested a day.[75] It is further related that when they came to the
farm of Kjelshuus, in Lessö, they found a meal prepared for them;
but on leaving, they emptied a barrel of flour out on the road, and
burned the farm. The people had fled to Lordalen, on the west side
of the Laagen.[76] At Nordrehuus farm there was a stout-hearted
woman called Sönnef, from Lom, married to Nordrehuus. While the
Scots were ravaging the valley, she did not run away with the
rest, but remained, although she was pregnant; and when the enemy
came to the farm, she hid herself in a barn, in order to put out
any fire which the Scots might kindle on their departure. She was
fortunately not discovered, nor was the farm burned down. At Bjokne
farm the house-wife had on her flight forgotten to take with her some
valuables, and therefore hurried back to save them. As soon as she
had done this, she saw the vanguard of the Scots already approaching
the farm; but she got away safely. The man at Töndevold[77] had
intended to make a stand at once against the Scots with the people
of Lessö, but found they were too weak. He then set out a quantity
of food and drink on his table, while he and his wife went up an
eminence opposite the farm to watch the fate of their house. The
Scots, on reaching the farm, regaled themselves with the viands which
they found, and it is said the table on which Sinclair ate is still
preserved. After they had eaten, they searched the house for anything
that might be worth carrying away; but they only found behind
the door of the cow-house a heifer, and they cut off its legs. On
leaving, they are said to have set fire to one of the out-houses; but
it went out of itself without spreading. Where they found food set
out at farms, they were afraid lest the Bönder had poisoned it, and
therefore they first gave their dogs to eat of it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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