, daring,
indefatigable, capable of bearing the most extreme reverses and rescuing
himself from the most perilous situations. Followed by his faithful
seventy, he wandered through the pathless mountain wilderness, hopeful
and resourceful. His courage was unfailing. Often they had to live on
bark and frozen berries, which were dug up from under the snow. At times
some of his men, worn out with hunger and exposure, would drop lifeless
on their barren paths; at times he had to sleep under his shield, as his
only protection from the falling snow; but his heart kept stout through
it all, and he chided those who talked of ending their misfortunes by
suicide.

As an example of his courage and endurance and his care of his men, we
may tell the following anecdote. Once in his wanderings he came to a
large mountain lake which had to be crossed. It could only be done on
rafts, and the men were so exhausted that it proved desperate work to
fell trees and build the necessary rafts. In time they were all
despatched, Sverre boarding the last, which was so heavily laden that the
water rose above his ankles.

One man was still on the shore, so utterly worn out that he had to crawl
to the water's edge and beg to be taken on, lest he should perish. The
others grumbled, but Sverre would not listen to their complaints but
bade them to take the man on. With his extra weight the raft sank till
the water reached their knees. Though the raft threatened to go to the
bottom Sverre kept a resolute face. A great fallen pine on the other side
made a bridge up which the men clambered to safety, Sverre being the last
to leave the raft. Scarcely had he done so when the watersoaked logs
sank. The men looked on this as a miracle and believed more fully than
ever that he would win.

Now came the first success in his marvellous career. He had one hundred
and twenty men on reaching the goal of his terrible journey, but here
eighty men more joined him and with these two hundred followers he
successfully faced a force of fourteen hundred which had been sent
against him. With a native genius for warfare he baffled his enemies at
every point, avoiding their onset, falling upon them at unexpected
points, forcing them to scatter into separate detachments in the pursuit,
then falling on and beating these detachments in succession. While he
kept aware of their plans and movements, they never knew where to look
for him, and in a short time the peasant army was be