Gloshed’s Altar.1

South of Thorsby Church, among the mountains, lies a shattered rock called Gloshed’s Altar, concerning which there is an old tradition still living upon the lips of the people, as follows:

A long time ago a man from the parish of Säfve went upon a Hollandish ship, on a whaling cruise. After the vessel had been tossed about the sea for some time, land was one day sighted, and upon the land was seen a fire which continued to burn many days.

It was determined that some of the ship’s crew should go ashore, in the hope that shelter might be found, and among those who went ashore was our hero. When the strand was reached they found there an old man sitting by a fire of logs, endeavoring to warm himself.

“Where did you come from?” asked the old man.

“From Holland!” answered the sailors.

“But where were you born?” to our hero.

“In Hisingen, in the parish of Säfve,” he answered.

“Are you acquainted in Thorsby?”

“Yes, indeed!”

“Do you know where Ulfve Mountain lies?”

“I have often passed it, as the road from Göteborg [96]to Marstrand over Hisingen and through Thorsby goes past there.”

“Do the large stones and hills remain undisturbed?” asked the old man.

“Yes, except one stone, which, if I remember correctly, is toppling over,” said the Hisinger.

“That is too bad! But do you know where Gloshed’s Altar is, and does it remain sound?”

“Upon that point,” said the sailor, “I have no knowledge.”

Finally the old man continued: “If you will say to those who now live in Thorsby and Torrebräcka that they shall not destroy the stones and elevations at the foot of Ulfve Mount, and, above all, to take care of Gloshed’s Altar, you shall have fair winds for the rest of your voyage.”

The Hisinger promised to deliver the message when he arrived home, whereupon he asked the old man his name, and how he, living so far from Thorsby, was so well acquainted with matters there.

“I’ll tell you,” said he, “my name is Thore Brock, and I at one time lived there, but was banished. All my relations are buried at Ulfve Mountain, and at Gloshed’s Altar we were wont to do homage to our gods and to make our offerings.”

Hereupon they separated.

When the man from Hisinger returned home he went about the fulfillment of his promise, and, without knowing how, he soon became one of the principal farmers in the parish. [97]

1 In Bohuslän and in Dalland the belief is quite general that the giants, leaving those regions, settled upon Dovre in Norway, or upon some uninhabited island in the North Sea, and that travelers are eagerly questioned about their former home. ↑

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