Dieckagåhpe Photo: Cato Hultmann

The murder at Dieckagåhpe

In the southernmost outpost of the mountains, high above ’s smallholdings and patches of farmland, there was a murder in 1829. The incident has not become part of local folklore, and the name of the place where the murder happened, Dieckagåhpe, has been forgotten. Even the grave of the woman who was killed is hidden in a forgotten cemetery at Saltnes in Saltdal.

Through reading Petrus Læstadius’ book Fortsättning af Journalen öfver missions- resor i Lappmarken innefattande åren 1828–1832 (“Continuation of the Journal of Missionary Journeys in Lappmark during the Years 1828–1832”), I became aware of the mention of a murder committed in , where the murderer was arrested by the Norwegian authorities. Since the books are about the people who lived in Pite Lappmark, which also includes the Sulitjelma mountains, I found it interesting that the incident was unknown, both in the local historical literature and among the people who had had great knowledge of this area for generations. Two of the Sami that were mentioned by name in this case were known from the local history of Sulitjelma. One was “Smoleck”, who has a small river in Sulitjelma named after him. The other, Jon Andersson Ljung, is strongly associated with the prediction of Sulitjelma’s establishment – and its decline, should the church tower ever have a spire. An enquiry sent to the State Archives in Trondheim, where the municipal records for Tinglag (judicial district) are archived, produced results. Soon, I had copies of witness statements, minutes of court proceedings, and correspondence between the sheriff, the bailiff and the local judge in my mailbox. All the documents were in the handwriting of the time, known in Norwegian as gotisk skrift, which meant that it took some time to read through the

1 material.1 Gradually a tragic case was revealed of the killing of a woman, most likely by accident. The case also showed how the legal system in Salten worked around 1830. Pretty much everyone who was affected by the case was Sami and spoke . How did the Norwegian authorities deal with that? This story has been put together into a chronological narrative, based on witness interviews in Norway and , and from the detailed information taken from these documents, as well as Læstadius’ mention of the incident. This is how the story of what then happened back then in Dieckagåhpe, somewhere between Lake Ingeborgvatn and Stålberget in Saltdal municipality, came to be.

A trading trip to the village The story starts early in the morning of Tuesday, 11 August 1829. The farmers at Yttergården in Saksenvik, Helge Willumsen and his wife Karen, become aware of a small group approaching their outfield fence.2 There are three of them, all in traditional Sami clothing, or gákti: two women in blue, calf-length dresses and tall, beehive-shaped hats, and a man in a typical, shorter man’s garment, with a leather bag on his back.3 They have come far, these three travellers. The oldest of the women, 50-year-old Kierstin Andersdotter, has walked from the east side of Lake Balvatnet and over to Stålberget, where she has been joined by 39-year-old Karin Nilsdatter and her nephew, 31-year-old Anders Andersson Bidkja, for the trading trip down to the farm in Saksenvik. Once inside the farmyard at Yttergården, they exchange greetings and news from the mountains and village. Then, the visitors present their wares. They pull several round, soot- blackened reindeer cheeses out of the leather bag. Helge Willumsen takes a look at these valuable items and asks his wife to find appropriate goods to trade from the farm’s storehouse. Soon Karen brings back home-woven frieze fabrics and some tobacco and flour. Finally, Helge produces a large pot of liquor, for which he receives an entire reindeer cheese in trade.4 After the guests have been treated to a meal of sour cream and flat bread, they pack their goods and set course back to the mountains.

A kanne of liquor and old friends Late that afternoon, the three rejoin the group of families travelling together, the Pålssons, Tarwons and Småleks. This siida (corporation of Sami reindeer herders) has its tent camp in Dieckagåhpe,5 located somewhere between Lake Ingeborgvatn and Stålberget, in Saltdal. Here the three are invited into Pål Tarwon’s tent, where his parents Karin Baggesdotter and Per Tarwon also live.6 After a while, the people from the neighbouring tent join them to hear the news from the village. It gets crowded in the tent, where Anders Bidkja reveals the contents of the leather bag – a two-and-a-half kanne keg of liquor.7 While the conversation is lively, Anders Bidkja pours two jomfru measures of liquor into his cup and then fills cup after cup until everyone has been served.8 Pål Tarwon’s parents,

1 Gotisk skrift (“Gothic handwriting”) is the name used in Denmark and Norway for Kurrent, a type of German cursive writing that came into use in the 16th century. It was the normal style of handwriting in Norway from about 1600 to 1850. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurrent 2 Saltdal gård og slekt, vol. 1, page 270, para. 1826. / Salten sorenskriverembete, forhørsprotokoll 1828–35, fol. 245b–249. 3 Manker, Ernst. 1947. Pages 474 and 464. 4 Salten sorenskriverembete, forhørsprotokoll 1828–35, fol. 245b–249. See also P. Læstadius, Fortsettelsen, page 356. 5 Dieckagåhpe was translated by Lars Erik Ruong in 1997 as “Teltstangshola” (tent-pole valley). 6 Lundström, Kjell-Åke. 2004. Karin Baggesdotter was the daughter of Bagge Andersson, b. 1713, d. 1792 in Lokteå Seitevare, Arjeplog. Karin is referred to erroneously as “Andersdatter” in the court documents. 7 Store norske leksikon (Norwegian encyclopaedia): Kanne, a former northern-European unit of volume, especially used for beverages. In Norway and Denmark, 1 kanne equalled 2 potter (= 1.93 L); in Sweden, 1 kanna equalled 2 stop (= 2.62 L). 8 Jungfru (jomfru) is an old Swedish measurement of volume equivalent to 82 ml. Used mostly for spirits. 2 Karin and Per, accept several refills, and Anders Bidkja himself is soon drunk. The atmosphere in the tent is good, until one of the herdsmen says that Bidkja’s reindeer herd has become mixed with Pål Tarwon’s herd. Anders is suddenly overcome with a wild rage, while Pål does what he can to calm his guest. Anders is furious, but eventually Pål manages to persuade him that the two should go out to talk alone. The two somewhat unsteady friends eventually sit down on a rock, a short distance away from the tents. Ever since Anders moved here from Jokkmokk in 1821, he and Pål had been good friends. For the first three years, Anders had worked as a reindeer herder, but soon married his own “livestock”. He was now in his second marriage, which produced a little daughter, and Anders chose Pål as godfather when little Margareta was baptised.9 Pål reciprocated this gesture of trust by giving the newborn child one of his best female reindeer. Pål knew well that Anders could be both violent and unruly when he drank. That was why he wanted the two of them to go out for a walk alone. Pål tries for some time to convince Anders that there was no malicious intent behind the fact that the two herds had become mixed together and that now, with so many people gathered in one place, it should be easy to separate the herds again. Anders now seems relaxed and calm, and he speaks of the honour Pål had showed his family with the fine baptismal gift. For this reason he wants to give Pål one more dram from his keg of spirits. Anders pulls his knife from his belt and opens the keg, pours some into the wooden cup and replaces the cork. But Pål notices that Anders has not put his knife back in its sheath, but is trying to hide it by holding it backwards inside his hand.10 The people who had been inside the tent have now come out into the open. From a distance, they see Pål and Anders sitting and talking peacefully, but suddenly the two stand up. Pål reaches for the knife Anders is holding in his hand, but Anders struggles free and staggers toward the crowd of people standing outside the tent. In a few short seconds, everything is in chaos. Some hurry back into the tent to avoid the raging Anders, while others stay where they are, unaware of the danger that looms. Anders staggers into one of the women in the crowd, knocking her over, and then, off balance, he flails his arm – and with it, the hand that is holding the knife. The next moment, a heartbreaking scream of “Oh Jesus!” pierces the sky. It is Pål’s mother. She falls to the ground, dead.11

9 Arjeplogs Tinglags Häradsrätt, AIA: 10, 1830 11/2 §22. 10 Arjeplogs Tinglags Häradsrätt, AIA: 10, 1830 11/2 §22. 11 Ibid. 3

All are stunned, looking down at Karin, lying there dead. Anders Bidkja is the first to come to his feet, and with his knife at the ready he tries to run off on his unsteady legs. Both Pål and his father Per grab the only weapons they have, namely the long birch walking staffs leaning against the tent. The victim’s husband, Per, is the first to approach Anders and he holds his staff raised, ready to strike. Just as he is about to hit Anders, someone grabs him by the arm and holds him. It is Per Smålek who stops the blow, fearing that Per will beat Anders to death. Consequently, Anders gets a good head start on his pursuers. Pål finally catches up with Anders, but his attempts to strike the knife out of Anders’ hand fail every time. After a while, Pål starts swinging wildly and strikes Anders with a powerful blow to the head, and Anders falls to the ground. Pål jumps on him immediately and takes the knife, while Per Smålek’s hand, Lars Jonsson, and two of the women, hold Anders down and tie his hands behind his back. The bewildered and shocked onlookers stand there wondering what to do next. The victim’s husband, Per Tarwon, a former tax collector and sheriff in his sameby, is the one who takes command. He gives the 20-year-old reindeer hand Lars the task of going to the farm at Botn, where Anders Pålsson, another man who is part of the same group, is staying. Together, the two are to take the fastest route to Saltnes to notify the priest about what has happened and ask the priest to summon the Norwegian sheriff. Per will go down to Lake Botnvatnet and get help to transport the murderer down to Norwegian authorities. Confidence in the Norwegian authorities is great, and the important thing now is to get the sheriff to sort things out as soon as possible.

The priest is notified of the murder The 20-year-old reindeer hand Lars receives the order and runs off on his errand. At dawn on Wednesday 12 August, Lars and Anders Pålsson arrive at the parsonage. Inside, the older of the two explains the situation to Dean Petersen. Although there is a significant language barrier, the priest quickly perceives that the two are trying to communicate a very serious matter. He brings out some writing materials and writes: To Bailiff Holmsen

4 At the request of Mountain Lapp Anders Poulsen, as well as Lapp hand Lars Johnsen, who came to me this morning, I hereby take the liberty to inform the Bailiff that, according to the aforesaid Anders Poulsen, Eastern Lapp Anders Andersen Bidkja did yesterday, the 11th of August, stab with a knife straight through the heart Lapp Sheriff Peder Larsen’s wife Karen, who dropped dead on the spot [...]12 At the same time as the priest sits writing his message to the bailiff, a group of four men climb the steep slopes behind the farms by Lake Bottenvann. The first is Per Tarwon; he is tired from lack of sleep and the harrowing experience of his wife’s murder. With him are three farmers to bring in Anders Bidkja. Up at the tent camp, Anders has now slept off the effects of the alcohol, and he has loosened his bonds, but makes no attempt to escape. The three men from Lake Bottenvann grab him, and once more his hands are tied behind his back before they lead him down the mountain. Early in the morning of Thursday, 13 August, Anders Bidkja and his guards make their way down to the boat landing place by the Saltdalsfjord. The prisoner will now be handed over to Sheriff Ole Evjent in Utvik in Skjerstad. Along the way, they meet a group of men from Skansbyen in Rognan. The men are carrying a coffin; they are on their way up to Dieckagåhpe to retrieve Karin’s dead body. And, as the four men struggle to get the coffin up the steep mountainside to Lake Ingeborgvatnet, a boat sails across the Saltdalsfjord. A man with his hands tied behind his back is sitting on the thwarts of the boat, staring toward the shore and up at the mountains. It would be the last time Anders Bidkja was to see the mountains where his herd of reindeer were still peacefully grazing.

Sheriff Ole Evjent’s task Up on the mountain, Karin is wrapped and placed in the coffin. An emotional crowd stands around the coffin, and many cry loudly. The people of the community are stricken by both grief and fear of what will happen next. It is late at night when the men with the coffin finally arrive at Saltnes and the mortuary. Sheriff Ole Evjent finally arrives in Saltnes on Sunday, 16 August, six days after Karin’s death. Local judge Heidenreich has asked Ole Evjent to make “an inspection of the body of the victim”. In fact, the judge had requested an autopsy be performed by the District Physician Høeg, but he did not expect it to happen. At the same time, Heidenreich complained about “the hardship and the fate” one experienced in the Salten district, as there was no “trained surgeon” to perform autopsies.13 Although the sheriff does not have the expertise to make any assessment of the body and determine how Karin had been killed, this inspection was the best the judge could get. Sheriff Evjent has brought his assistant Hans Danielsen with him from Utvik, along with two sworn men from Breivik, Peder Hansen and Ole Lucassen. These men are given a difficult task, both because of the time that has passed since Karin had been killed, and also because of the “heavy-handed” transport from the mountains and down to the cemetery. The men eventually conclude that the knife had gone straight into the heart and killed Karin instantly.14 The autopsy has just finished when the sheriff is approached by a messenger with a message from the bailiff, informing him that he has been given express orders to find witnesses to the murder and summon them to questioning at the farm of Bertneslien, in Bodø parish, on 20 August. Somewhat at a loss, Sheriff Ole Evjent tries to get ready to go to the mountains, for neither he nor his assistant know the way. Nor do they know the language, so first they have to find a guide and interpreter. Based on the recommendation of the priest, they select 63-year-old Bent Olsen from Lake Bottenvann.

12 Salten Sorenskriverembete 1E05 Forhørsprotokoll 1828–35. Fol. 245b – 249, Letter marked “No. 1”. 13 Salten Sorenskriverembete 1E05 Forhørsprotokoll 1828–35. Fol. 245b – 249, court of examination and summary jurisdiction 22 August 1829 14 Ibid. 5

Disruption and more violence In the camp at Dieckagåhpe, the tents have now been taken down and the people are getting ready to move on. The mood is irritable and nervous: as soon as the killer and Karin’s body had been brought down from the mountains, new and shocking events had unfolded. Once the initial shock of Karin’s death had subsided, the event was discussed over and over again. What had they seen, and what should they have done? Who was really guilty? The man who had said that the herds had been mixed? What about Per Smålek, who prevented Per Tarwon from striking down Bidkja with his staff? The discussions quickly transformed the widower and his son’s grief into anger, directed at Per Smålek. In the heated atmosphere, father and son eventually attack Per Smålek, tie him up and beat him bloody with their staffs. After the abuse, Smålek was in such bad shape that he was long on the brink of death.15 The incident shocked the people in the camp and the community dissolved. The people wanted to get away as fast as possible. Jon Ljung had kept the murder weapon in his possession since the murder took place. The knife was to be handed over to the authorities as soon as the Norwegian sheriff came to the camp. They had now waited a week without any sign of the authorities. Jon Ljung hurries down to Saltnes. On the way down the mountain, he sees the sheriff and his group on the way up, but chooses to pass them unseen. Having handed over the murder weapon to the servant at the parsonage, he returns quietly to the mountains, gathers his reindeer and his family and starts moving east towards Sweden. Finally, on Tuesday 18 August, a week after the murder took place, Sheriff Ole Evjent, with Bent Olsen as an interpreter and guide, travels up into the mountains. They are supposed to summon witnesses to the court of examination and summary jurisdiction to be held on Thursday 20 August at Bertnes, but there is no one around at Dieckagåhpe. Neither are there any people at Stålberget. They don’t find anyone until they come to Baldoaivi mountain, where they find a lavvu (tent). The summons is read to the widower Per Tarwon, Anders Pålsson and the reindeer hand Lars Jonsson. Tarwon is completely heartbroken and not very communicative. The sheriff wants to know where his son Pål is. Where is the murder weapon? And where are the other witnesses? Anders Pålsson explains that Tarwon’s son Pål has gone to collect the reindeer herd, which had been allowed to run free because of the circumstances. Jon Ljung has delivered the murder weapon to the priest at Saltnes, and the two women, Karin and Kiersten, who had been in Saksenvik with the killer, have also moved on. Karin Nilsdotter has by now moved north-east to Jacobbelde (Jakobsbakken). “Are there any other people who should testify?” asks Evjent. To that question, the widower Tarwon answers a definite no. Consequently, the sheriff never finds out about Smålek’s role in the drama, and that he was now badly injured. Late on the evening of 18 August, the sheriff’s group arrives at Jakobsbakken. The only people at home in the tent are Karin’s husband and seven-year-old son. Karin is in the mountains herding the reindeer, and the sheriff has to read the summons to her husband. The sheriff is told where to find Kiersten Andersdotter, staying with her family in Rahpesvarre. Ole Evjent is tired, but the 63-year-old interpreter Bent Olsen continues tirelessly, wading across the fast-flowing rivers and climbing up the slopes to Rahpesvarre. The next morning, they find Kiersten and her husband, Per Malta. Having delivered the summons to Kiersten, the three travellers rest for a few hours. Now, Sheriff Evjent is determined to find Jon Ljung and, back at Baldoaivi, he orders Anders Pålsson to go out and find him. Evjent and his group will wait in the tent until he returns. At nine o’clock in the evening of 20 August, Evjent has to give up and start making his way home to Utvik. Back home, the tired sheriff sits at his desk and reports to Judge Heidenreich:

15 Læstadius, P. 1833. Page 357. 6 [...] I have a strong suspicion that Jon Andersen [Ljung] has intentionally gone over the mountains to avoid us, and he had delivered previously the murder weapon, which I hereby forward, to a boy at Saltnes farm. To look for the Lapps in the extensive mountain areas between Sweden and Norway is so difficult as to be impossible. For one day, they are in one spot, the next they are far away, and it is quite impossible to understand the difficulty and laboriousness of such a journey when one has not experienced the difficulty of attempting to follow the Lapps as they go about their business, particularly here in Norway, where most of them have no actual residence, but follow the reindeer wherever the animals find their nourishment, from place to place [...]16

Court of examination and summary jurisdiction in Bertnes The local judge and his co-judges hold a court of examination and summary jurisdiction at Bertneslien on 20 August, but no witnesses come. The following day, the judge receives the letter from Sheriff Evjent, in which he complains about the “extensive mountain areas”. It is a fact that farmers by the fjord did not use the mountains, and were completely unfamiliar with the terrain above the tree line. The farmers from the village were also unable to help during the examinations held by Major Schnitler in Rognan in 1742 on border relations between Norway and Sweden.17 The Major finally got his detailed descriptions of mountain areas when he managed to interview the Sami. That the Sami who had been called as witnesses to the court at Bertnes were to find their way there on their own was not an issue. From the time the witnesses Kierstin and Karin received the summons, it took them just under three days to come from Rahpesvarre and Jakobsbakken to Bertnes. Despite the long distance and the short notice, the two women, the reindeer hand Lars and the widower Per attended the court on 22 August, when the court examinations started at Cristian Johannesen’s house on Bertneslien farm. Jon Ljung, the son of the murdered woman, Pål, and Anders Pålsson did not attend. The witnesses made it clear to the court that they had to give their testimony that day, as they now had to move eastward and would not be back in the area until the following summer. Sheriff Ole Evjent, who was to question the witnesses, did not attend either. He had sent his son as his deputy. The examinations revealed that it was only the victim’s husband, Per Tarwon, who had seen the murder committed by Anders Bidkja. The others had either been in the tent or out herding reindeer when the murder was committed. Anders Bidkja was also questioned, “free of bonds and without force”. He pleaded not guilty to murder because, due to his drunken state, he could not remember anything, and thus could neither admit nor deny the murder. Finally, interpreter Bent Olsen declared that his interpreting from the Lappish or Finnish language to Norwegian was undertaken in accordance with his best understanding and conviction, which he hereby confirmed under oath.18

“Do not respond with deadly violence” The authorities continued their quest to bring Jon Ljung in for questioning. They never succeeded, despite the fact that the summons to examinations at both Arjeplog and Bertnes had been communicated to him through other Sami. Why Per Smålek was not asked to testify is also unknown, but it may be because Sheriff Ole Evjent never tried to get an overview of who witnessed the murder, and he was not given any help in that regard either. In this way, the widower, Per Tarwon, managed to hide the brutal assault on Smålek. However,

16 Salten Sorenskriverembete 1E05 Forhørsprotokoll 1828–35. Fol. 245b–249. Letters to the local judge from Sheriff Ole Evjent dated 21 August 1829. 17 Major Peter Schnitlers grenseeksaminasjonsprotokoller, vol. II. Kjeldeskriftfondet 1929/1985. The Sami in the Sulitjelma area were called to a hearing at Rognan in 1742 to explain about the border area and its use. The minutes of this hearing contain a detailed description, pp. 107–137. 18 Salten Sorenskriverembete 1E05 Forhørsprotokoll 1828–35. Fol. 245b–249. Court of examination and summary jurisdiction at Bertneslien, 22 August 1829. 7 there were those who knew what had happened. Petrus Læstadius writes in his book about when he met Per Tarwon on Gajtsas mountain in the autumn of 1829. At the time, the grieving widower was on his way from the Sulitjelma mountains to winter pastures in Sweden. Læstadius was well informed about what had happened. The priest gave a strong admonition about the abuse of liquor and the violence exercised against Smålek. Læstadius had also heard about Jon Ljung’s relationship to the matter, and wrote: Then a Lapp by the name of John Andersson Ljung said, when someone asked him if he was not also a witness: “How can I testify about this case? If someone kills one’s wife, one must by no means respond with deadly violence.”19 The way that Jon Ljung worded himself, one can assume that he neither wanted nor dared to testify in the murder case, after what Tarwon and his son had done to Per Smålek. After the court examinations on 22 August 1829 at Bertnes, an extra hearing was added later in the autumn. On 10 October 1829 Anders Bidkja was charged with murder, and on 11 February 1830, upon request from the Norwegian authorities, an examination of witnesses was conducted by the Arjeplog in Sweden. The victim’s son, Pål, was there to testify, while his father, Per, was not questioned as he “was so stricken with grief that he could not be induced to provide any information”.20 They did not manage to question Jon Ljung this time either, but his wife, Maria, was in attendance. She was out herding the reindeer when the murder happened and knew nothing of what had taken place. In June 1830, Anders Pålsson was found at Rognan. He did not know anything either, as he had been visiting Botn farm when the murder happened. All he could tell them was that Jon Ljung was near the border in the mountains with his reindeer. The judge tried once again to get Ole Evjent to go to the mountains, but Evjent almost begged not to have to go up to “the extensive mountains” to find Ljung.

Death sentence and reprieve In the summer of 1830, on 16 June, Salten district court handed down a death sentence for Anders Bidkja. This was despite the fact that not all the witnesses were questioned, and the autopsy, in the absence of a physician, was conducted by laymen. None of the witnesses, not even the victim’s husband, believed that the killing was intentional. Anders Andersson Bidkja never admitted murder, as he claimed not to be able to recall having stabbed Karin, because of his “intoxication”. The judge himself pointed out that it was odd that Bidkja had no connection with either the murdered woman or her husband that could be “deduced to be reason or cause for the murder”. The judge ruled that although the murder was probably not intentional, but rather accidental, it would have dangerous consequences if one assumed that it was done in “delirium or fury, or by accident. The safety of citizens would in such case be very uncertain, when the greatest sin could be committed in drunkenness and then paid off with a small fine [...] The Court is therefore of the opinion that the accused cannot avoid criminal punishment [...] but that one must pay for a Life with a Life.”21 The judge was clearly in doubt about his dramatic decision on the death penalty, because he then went on to say that there were many reasons that would justify a reprieve, and that could be used in Bidkja’s case. However, the main reason not to discuss a reprieve was, according to the judge, that “the accused person is undoubtedly most unfit to be placed in any labour institution, not to mention that he cannot speak Norwegian.”22 In other words, the judge was of the opinion that it was better for society that the prisoner be put to death, than that a labour institution would have to keep someone alive when that person would not be able to make himself useful. In addition, he could not speak Norwegian. From this conclusion,

19 Læstadius, P. Fortsättning af Journalen. 1833. Page 357. 20 Arjeplogs Tinglags Häradsrätt, AIA: 10, 1830 11/2 §22. 21 Salten Sorenskriverembete Tingbok 1A22, 1827–31, fol. 237b. 22 Ibid. 8 one must ascertain that the nomadic Samis’ life and knowledge were completely foreign to the local judge in Salten. On 13 September, the Trondheim stiftsoverrett (diocese superior court) confirmed the judgment, and eventually a death sentence was handed down by the Supreme Court on 1 March 1831. That same month, on 30 March, Anders Bidkja received a reprieve from the death sentence by King Charles XIV & III John – by the Grace of God, King of Sweden and Norway, of the Goths and Wends. Instead, the King decided that Bidkja should pay with slave work for life. On 19 June 1831, Anders Anderson Bidkja was committed to the Trondheim slave prison as slave No. 89. At the committal, a description of Anders’ appearance was recorded. He was 58½ inches tall (about 153 cm), had black hair and beard, and brown eyes. He was “small, but of strong stature and had three scars on his left hand.” His possessions included “three Sami dresses, two rings and a leather hat.”23 The murder of Karin Baggesdatter was a tragedy for her family and her siida. The way the courts treated Anders Bidkja was also tragic. Just three years after Anders Andersson Bidkja was committed to the Trondheim slave prison, he died of smallpox after ten days of illness on 5 March 1834, aged 36.24 The story was then forgotten.

The core of the matter was never brought to light The story of Anders Andersson Bidkja, who killed Karin Baggesdatter, is told through the written sources left by the Norwegian and Swedish authorities. What the witnesses and the accused told the court was translated by an interpreter. At the court of examination and summary jurisdiction, Bent Olsen, from Bottenvann in Saltdal, was used as an interpreter. Olsen was a Sami, and belonged to the Pite Sami language area. At the additional examination in June 1830, an interpreter who lived in Breivik in Salten was used. Information about his background has not been found. Anders Bidkja was born and raised in the Lule Sami area, but we do not know if this was a problem for the interpreters. One question we will never be able to answer is how good the interpreters were at translating from Sami to Norwegian. The two interpreters used during the court proceedings were randomly selected people. Bent Olsen was recommended by the priest in Saltdal, originally as a guide for the sheriff’s journey into the mountains. At the additional examination in June 1830, since Bent Olsen was out fishing herring, the judge had to hurry to find another interpreter. Which questions were the most important to have answered by the witnesses and the defendant? A list of questions was drawn up by the judge and the bailiff shortly after news came that a woman had been killed in the mountains. Their lack of knowledge of nomadic reindeer husbandry and the Sami siida system meant that the answers they wanted never gave them an overview of the background of the case or who had witnessed the murder, even when the witnesses testified that it was when Anders Bidkja heard that his reindeer herd had been mixed with Tarwon’s that the rage and tumult was triggered. The judge did not ask why this should be a cause of conflict between Bidkja and Pål Tarwon. Therefore, there is also no detailed information about the circumstances that prompted Anders Bidkja’s rage. We do not know where Anders Bidkja had his pastures and his family, but since he traded in reindeer cheese, we can conclude that he had a small and very tame reindeer herd. There were two modes of husbandry practised by the nomads bordering the Sulitjelma mountains. The most common was called intensive reindeer husbandry, where they had small, domesticated reindeer herds that were tended around the clock and were milked for cheese production. The second mode of husbandry was called extensive, where the herds were larger, and where meat production was most important. There is a source that has placed the Tarwon

23 Trondhjems slaveri, stambok 1825–1837, p. 452. 24 Trondhjems slaveri, sykejournal for slavene 1826–1850. No. 17 – 1834. Smallpox is a contagious viral disease that was present in Norway until the early 1900s. It has now been eradicated through a comprehensive vaccination programme. 9 family’s hereditary land/pasture area north-east of Mavasjaur, in areas that bordered the Luokta sameby.25 This may mean that Tarwon had a larger herd of reindeer, cared for extensively, with few tame reindeer.26 If Bidkja’s reindeer had become mixed up with his herd, it gives us some perspective on his reaction. These small, highly domesticated herds were important for the owner’s ability to capitalise on his work. Milking reindeer from spring until late autumn gave the owner reindeer cheese, which was the payment method for all trade. Reindeer cheese was used as payment for all kinds of items in Norway, plus the cheese could be used to purchase reindeer from Sami who had more extensive operations.27 The breeding of a very tame reindeer herd also contributed to the herd becoming the owner’s private property, “with a much firmer and inviolable right”.28 The herd also had to be guarded in winter, especially when another siida moved into the same area; when that happened, the herders who were there first would “slowly pull their own herd away”.29 When the Northern Sami moved into the Mavas area around 1920, it was disastrous for those who kept small, domesticated reindeer herds. The Northern Sami ran only extensive reindeer husbandry, and the differences in their methods contributed to the small herds often disappearing into the large herds. Thus, many local herders lost their reindeer and fell out of reindeer husbandry. It must be emphasised that we do not know with certainty that Bidkja’s reindeer herd had mixed with a larger, more unmanageable herd. However, if this were so, it provides a better explanation of his desperation and anger than that he was of a violent disposition. It could be that Bidkja saw his family’s labour and capital disappearing, and reacted. Perhaps, in his intoxicated state, he thought that it had been done on purpose. We will never know the truth, and we must accept that. Although the killing at Dieckagåhpe happened many years after Norway’s Constitution was passed, criminal law was based on the old laws from the time of absolute monarchy, and it took a long time to get a new Norwegian criminal law system in place. The process was not without its problems, especially as the Swedish King, Charles XIV & III John, wanted to have the same laws in Norway and in Sweden. The cooperation on identical criminal laws was prepared in 1831, but not approved by the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) until 1842. When Anders Bidkja stood trial, his conviction was based on Christian V’s Norwegian law, from 1687. This law provided for only one means of punishment for murder: life should be paid for with life. Bidkja was convicted under § 6-6-1, voluntary manslaughter, for which the punishment by law was beheading. By 1831, there was a long tradition in Norway of disregarding the penal penalties of beheading, burning alive and other mutilation.30 From 1758, all death sentences had to be presented to the King before they were enforced, and Bidkja received a reprieve from beheading, in exchange for lifelong slavery.

25 Djupedal, Wolf-Michael. 1987. 26 Læstadius, P. Journalen. 1831. Pages 452–453. 27 Ruong, I. 1944. Pages 165–166. 28 Ibid. Pages 183 and 185. 29 Ibid. Pages 154–155. 30 Sandvik, Hilde: Om Grunnlovens § 94 og rettsinformasjon. 2014. Store Norske leksikon (Norwegian encyclopaedia) on the death penalty.

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Bibliography:

Hutchinson, Alan. Clark, Guri S. Saltdal gård og slekt. Volume I, 2002.

Læstadius, P. Journal af Petrus Læstadius för första året af hans tjenstgöring såsom missionaire i Lappmarken. Stockholm: Hæggström 1831.

Læstadius, Petrus. Fortsättning af Journalen öfver missions-resor i Lappmarken innefattande åren 1828-1832.. Stockholm: Nordström. 1833.

Manker, Ernst. De svenska fjällapparna. SFT Publication No. 967. Swedish Tourist Association publishing house. Stockholm 1947.

Ruong, Israel. Studier i lapsk kultur i Pite lappmark och angränsande områden. In Svenska landsmål och svenskt folkliv. 1943–44, p. [123]-194 : ill.

Djupedal, Wolf-Michael. Aspekter ved en undersøkelse av befolkningsutviklingen i Mavas i tiden 1739/1826. Hovedfagsoppgave (thesis at second degree level). Department of History, University of Trondheim. 1987.

Renbeteskommisjonen af 1907. Dokumenter angående flyttlapparna. Volume I. Stockholm: Norstedt, 1909.

Schnitler, Peter: Major Peter Schnitlers grenseeksaminasjonsprotokoller 1742–1745. Volume II / Pages 107–137. Published by Kjeldeskriftfondet. Oslo, Norway: Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt, 1929–1985.

Sources State Archives in Trondheim: Salten Sorenskriverembete 1E05 Forhørsprotokoll 1828–35. Fol. 245b–249. Contents: 20 August 1829, Questionings on the farm Bertneslien in Bodø parish. Also contains a copy of the letter submitted at the court of examination and summary jurisdiction on 20 August 1829, cited as: 1. Letter from Parish Priest Petersen to Bailiff Holmsen: notification of the murder. The letter is marked “Bailiff’s interrogation requisition of 14 August”. 2. Letter from the Administrator (Judge Heidenreich) to county, and the county’s response of 15 August regarding “the necessary autopsy business”. 3. Letter from the County Governor of Nordland, H. Trampe. 22 August 1829. The court of examination and summary jurisdiction sat at Bertneslien. Letter from Sheriff Ole Evjent to Judge Heidenreich, dated 21 August 1829, regarding the summoning of the witnesses, and request to not have to try again to find witnesses Jon Andersson Ljung and his wife Maria. Enclosed “transcript of the visual inspection conducted of the victim, Karin Andersdatter”.

Salten Sorenskriverembete Tingbok 1A22, 1827–31, fol. 237b.

11 Contents: 16 June 1830: Additional examination at Bertneslien in Bodø parish, “to pronounce judgment in the legal case against Eastern Mountain Lapp Anders Andersen Bidkja”.

Trondhjem Stiftsoverett, domprotokoll 1 CA01, 1825–1832, fol 386b, plus judgment of 13 September 1830.

Nordlands Amt, journalsaker 1831, Ga46, jnr. 628/18831. Contents: From the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police Reprieve from death sentence.

Trondhjems slaveri, sykejournal for slavene 1826–1850. No. 17 – 1834. Trondhjems slaveri, stambok 182 –1837, p. 452.

Arjeplogs Tinglags Häradsrätt, AIA: 10, 1830 11/2 § 22. Transcript by Carl-Oskar Lundström.

Digitised sources, released on CD

Lundström, Kjell-Åke. Samer i Arjeplog, Uppgifter från kyrkböcker Arjeplog och angränsande socknar. Published by Skelleftebygdens släktforskarförening, 2004.

Publications on the Internet

Lovdata: Sandvik, Hilde. 4.3.2014. Om Grunnlovens § 94 og rettsinformasjon. http://lovdata.no/artikkel/om_grunnlovens_%C2%A7_94_og_rettsinformasjon/1399

Proposition to the Odelsting no. 90 (2003–2004) regarding the General civil penal code.

Additional sources

According to the records of Arjeplog district court, the camp at Dieckagåhpe consisted of:

First lavvu Paul (Pål) Persson, tax-paying Lapp, with his household, among them his elderly father. Per Larsson (Torwo) Tarwon, former sheriff and mother. Karin (Catharina) Andersdotter, Torwo’s wife, the murder victim [her real name was Baggesdotter].

Second lavvu (a few ells away) Anders Pålsson with his household, also housing Per Andersson Smålik [Smålek] and his people. Lars Jonsson (Swaggbro) Skobro, reindeer hand. (Anders Pålsson is probably the father of Per Andersson Smålek. Per’s two sons from his first marriage: Anders and Jakob, twins born in 1805. Per’s second wife, Ella Larsdotter, and her son, “reindeer hand” Lars Jonsson Skobro. Source: Lundström, Kjell-Åke, 2004.)

Visiting the camp, resting for a while in the lavvu: Anders Andersson Bidkja (Bidtja), former Jokkmokk Lapp, together with 2 Lapp women: Karin (Catharina) Nilsdotter – wife of Anders Toresson in Lokteå. Kiersten (Christina) Andersdotter – wife of Per Larsson Malta, Norrvesterbyn.

12 Jon Andersson Ljung and his wife Maria are not mentioned, even though they are present. They are probably guarding reindeer, and not living in the reindeer owner’s camp. There are probably several servants present but not named.

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