of more. He probably threw himself into the sea
not to survive his defeat.

"It was a grand fight, Captain Larsen!" I exclaimed, as the narrator
concluded his story. I thanked the captain, and after this we all went
to our bunks to sleep.

The following day was Sunday. There was no buying or selling of fish.
Every man was shaved and wore clean linen; the church was crowded with
fishermen, and the afternoon was spent in making social visits.

I had fished with the four boats of our house, and now I made my
preparations for sailing northward. Our catch of fish and that in
several neighboring fishing settlements during the fishing season had
amounted to over twenty-two millions of cod.

CHAPTER XXXI

SAILING ALONG THE COAST OF FINMARKEN.--HAMMERFEST, THE MOST NORTHERN
TOWN IN THE WORLD.--SCHOOLS.--FRUHOLMEN, THE MOST NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE
IN THE WORLD.--AMONG THE SEA LAPPS.--MEN AND WOMEN SAILORS.

Leaving the fishing settlement, the _Ragnild_, which I had rejoined,
sailed along the rugged and dreary shore of Finmarken, the most northern
part of the continent of Europe, passing now and then a solitary
fisherman's house, or a settlement hidden from sight, though the
stranger would never dream that any human being lived in this land of
rocks and desolation.

We next came to Hammerfest, in 70 deg. 40' north latitude, the most northern
town in the world. In its commodious port were English, French, Russian,
German, Swedish, and Norwegian vessels. Hundreds of fishing boats were
there also, waiting for favorable winds to continue their voyage.
Steamers were going and coming from the south.

The population was about three thousand souls. There were warehouses
owned by rich merchants, a church, a comfortable hotel, good schools
where boys and girls can learn French, English, German, Latin and
Greek.

The streets were filled with snow. But though so far north there was not
a particle of ice in the port, on account of the warm Gulf Stream,
though sometimes the thermometer reaches 20 degrees below zero. Often
during the winter the mercury stands for consecutive days above the
freezing point.

After leaving Hammerfest we sailed towards North Cape. Suddenly I heard
one of the sailors on the watch shout, "Light! Light!" "What," said I,
"a lighthouse so far north?"

"Yes," replied the captain, who was standing near me; "it is the most
northern light on the globe. It is the light on the island of Fruholmen,