Lachesis Lapponica; Or, A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1

(This appears by the drawing, here copied from the original manuscript, to be Chrysomela lapponica.) Here grew a Salix with ovate-oblong leaves, very hairy all over (S. lanata); its catkins were, for the most part, far advanced and faded.

In the evening I arrived at Jamtboht, where some women were sitting employed in cutting the bark of the aspen-tree (Populus tremula) into small pieces, scarcely an inch long, and not half so broad. The bark is stripped from the tree just when the leaves begin to sprout forth, and laid up in a place under the roof of a house till autumn or the following spring, when it is cut into the small fragments above described. In this state it serves as food for cows, goats and sheep, instead of hay, the latter being a very scarce article in these parts; for the fields consist principally of marshy tracts, whose herbage is but of a coarse kind.

On my inquiring what I could have for supper, they set before me the breast of a Cock of the wood (Tetrao Urogallus), which had been shot and dressed some time the preceding year. Its aspect was not very inviting, and I imagined the flavour would not be much better; but in this respect I was mistaken. The taste proved delicious, and I wondered at the ignorance of those who, having more fowls than they know how to dispose of, suffer many of them to be spoiled, as often happens at Stockholm. I found with pleasure that these poor Laplanders know better than some of their more opulent neighbours, how to employ the good things which God has bestowed upon them. After the breast is plucked, separated from the other parts of the bird, and cleaned, a gash is cut longitudinally on each side of the breast-bone, quite through to the bottom, and two others parallel to it, a little further off, so that the inside of the flesh is laid open in order that it may be thoroughly dressed. The whole is first salted with fine salt for several days. Afterwards a small quantity of flour is strewed on the under side to prevent its sticking, and then it is put into an oven to be gradually dried. When done, it is hung up in the roof of the house to be kept till wanted, where it would continue perfectly good, even for three years, if it were necessary to preserve it so long.

It rained so violently that I could not continue my journey that evening, and was therefore obliged to pass the night at this place. The pillows of my bed were stuffed with the hair of the reindeer instead of feathers. Under the sheet was the hide of a reindeer with the hair on, the hairy side uppermost, on which the people told me I should lie very soft.

May 27.

In the morning the continued rain prevented my pursuing my journey till noon. The bark of the large smooth kinds of Willow is here used for tanning leather. The smooth bark of the upper branches, cut into small pieces, is chosen for the purpose, the coarse part on the bottom of the stem being useless.

At noon I departed from the place where I had slept, and continued to pursue the same bad road as the preceding day, which was indeed the worst I ever saw, consisting of stones piled on stones, among large entangled roots of trees. In the interstices were deep holes filled with water by the heavy rains. The frost, which had but just left the ground, contributed to make matters worse. All the elements were against me. The branches of the trees hung down before my eyes, loaded with rain-drops, in every direction. Wherever any young birch trees appeared, they were bent down to the earth, so that they could not be passed without the greatest difficulty. The aged pines, which for so many seasons had raised their proud tops above the rest of the forest, overthrown by the wrath of Juno, lay prostrate in my way. The rivulets which traversed the country in various directions were very deep, and the bridges over them so decayed and ruinous, that it was at the peril of one's neck to pass them on a stumbling horse. It seemed beyond the power of man to make the road tolerable, unless a Bjelke (Governor of Gefle) had the command of the district.

Many persons had confidently assured me, that it was absolutely impossible to travel to Lycksele in the summer season; but I had always comforted myself with the saying of Solomon, that "nothing is impossible under the sun:" however, I found that if patience be requisite any where, it is at this place. To complete my distresses, I had got a horse whose saddle was not stuffed, and instead of a bridle I had only a rope, which was tied to the animal's under jaw. In this trim I proceeded on my journey.

Here and there, in the heart of the forest, were level heathy spots, as even as if they had been made so by a line, consisting of barren sand (Arena Glarea), on which grew a few straggling firs, and some scattered plants of ling. Some places afforded the perforated coralline Lichen (L. uncialis), which the inhabitants, in rainy weather when it is tough, rake together into large heaps, and carry home for the winter provender of their cattle. These sandy spots were in extent three quarters of a mile or a mile, encompassed as it were with a rampart, or very steep bank, fifteen or twenty ells in height, so nearly perpendicular that it was not to be ascended or descended without extreme difficulty. They might be compared to the mountain which Alexander the Great ascended with so much labour. It often happened that above one of these sandy heaths lay another equally barren. They resembled the ridges of a field, except the perfect flatness and great breadth of the surface of each, and their being destitute of stones. The interstices of the country between these embanked heaths were occupied by water, rocks and marshes, producing abundance of firs intermixed with some birches, all covered with black and white filamentous Lichens. Juniper bushes but rarely occurred, and were all of a very diminutive size, and close-pressed to the ground.

At Skullbacken is a small current of water, which rises out of the ground at that very spot. I tried to feel the bottom with my stick, but could not reach it.

At Abackan, and on the road beyond it for a considerable way, some loose ice still remained, which surprised me much at this season of the year; yet I recollected that but a week before I had met with snow in the neighbourhood of mount Skula.

Here and there on the road lay a crustaceous Byssus, consisting as it were of a white rough brittle membrane, with white grains scattered over it[18].

On the sandy heaths among the perforated Lichen (uncialis) grew another kind much resembling it, but as thick as the finger, snow-white, and with more copious and dense entangled branches, which, not having been hitherto described, I denominated Coralloides ramosissimum perforatum, ramis implexis, niveum[19]. There was also an elegant cup-moss, (L. cocciferus,) repeatedly proliferous from the centre of its cups, two or more cups originating together from one centre, all over of a grey hue, except the scarlet tubercles which bordered the uppermost cups. Every where in the road grew the beforementioned leafy sulphur-coloured Lichen (nivalis?) in the greatest profusion.

The marshy places abounded with Muscus tectorius[20] and Polytrichum, intermixed with abundance of Black Whortle-berries.

Wherever I came I could get nothing to drink but water.

Against the walls of the houses the Agaric shaped like a horse's hoof (Boletus igniarius) was hung up to serve as a pin-cushion.

As a protection against rain, the people wear a broad horizontal collar made of birch bark, fastened round the neck with pins.

The women wash their houses with a kind of brush, made of twigs of spruce fir, which they tie to the right foot, and go backwards and forwards over the floor[21].

I observed they had gathered some of the Water Trefoil (Menyanthes trifoliata), which is the plant here called Missne. It is ground and mixed with their corn to make bread. They also boil it with some kinds of berries into an electuary, but it is in every state very bitter. The root only is used.

Part of this day's journey was performed in a Lapland boat, which will be described hereafter.

The peasants of this country, instead of tobacco, smoke the buds of hops, or sometimes juniper berries, and when nothing else can be had, the bark of the juniper tree; but to supply the want of snuff they use ashes mixed with a small portion of real snuff. They strain their milk through platted tufts of hair from a cow's tail.

In the evening I reached Teksnas, situated in the parish of Umoea. Seven miles distant from this place is the church, the road to which is execrable, insomuch that the people are obliged to set out on Friday morning to get to church on Sunday. On this account they can very seldom attend divine service, except on fast days, Whitsunday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas day.

How trifling would be the expense of building a small church, and how much have those in authority to answer for before God for neglecting to provide one! Timber for the purpose was brought here so long ago as the time of the late Abraham Lindelius; but it has lain till it is rotten, as the clergy find some difficulty in the undertaking: nor is this the only obstacle!

Here I observed a kind of dark-coloured gnat with very large dark wings (Empis borealis.)

May 28.

I left Teksnas and proceeded to Genom; but as there is no conveyance but by water, from the last-mentioned place to Lycksele, and the wind blew very hard, I was obliged to stop at Genom till the following day. Indeed I did not arrive there till nine o'clock, when I found the people assembled at prayers, after which a sermon was read out of a book containing several; and as this service did not end till eleven, it would then have been too late to have set out for Lycksele, more than five miles distant, without any house or resting-place between.

One of the peasants here had shot a small Beaver. I inquired concerning the food of this animal, and was told it was the bark of trees, the birch, fir, and mountain ash, but more especially the aspen, and the castor becomes larger in proportion as the beaver can get more of the aspen bark. This confirmed the truth of what Assessor Rothman formerly asserted, that castor is secreted from the intermediate bark of the poplar, which has the same scent, though not quite so strong: hence it is to be presumed that a decoction of this bark, if the dose were sufficiently large, would have the same medicinal effects.

I wonder no naturalist has classed this animal with the Mouse tribe, (Mures. Linnæus afterwards called the Order Glires,) as its broad depressed form at first sight suggested to me that it was of that family; in which opinion I was confirmed when I examined the broad naked tail, the short obtuse ears, and the two pair of parallel front teeth, so well formed for cutting, of which the lower pair are the largest.

The people here eat the flesh of the beaver as well as of the hare and squirrel, which indeed are all of the same natural family. The Romans, we are told, ate mice by way of a choice dainty. The beaver is very seldom roasted, but generally boiled. The rump is thrown away, but the feet are eaten. The skin spread out and dried is worth twelve dollars. The castor fetches half a dollar, or sometimes a dollar. I found the boiled flesh very insipid, for want of salt.

This young Beaver, which fell under my examination, was a foot and half long, exclusive of the tail, which was a palm in length and two inches and a half in breadth. The hairs on the back were longer than the rest; the external ones brownish black, the inner pale brown. The belly clothed with short dark-brown fur. Body depressed. Ears obtuse, clothed with fine short hairs, and destitute of any accessory lobe. Snout blunt, with round nostrils. Upper lip cloven as far as the nostrils; lower very short. The whiskers black, long and stout. Eye-brow of three bristles like the whiskers over each eye. Neck none. The fur of the belly was distinguished from that of the sides by a line on each side, in which the skin was visible. Feet clothed with very short hairs, quite different from those of the body. A fleshy integument invested the whole body. The intestinum cæcum was large, with a very large appendix. Upon the stomach lay two large cellular glands, of whose nature and use I am ignorant. There were two cutting teeth in each jaw, of which the upper pair were the shortest, and notched at the summit like steps; the lower and larger pair were sloped off obliquely. Grinders very far remote from the fore-teeth, which is characteristic of the animal, four on each side. Hind feet webbed, but fore feet with separate claws. Tail flat, oblong, obtuse, with a reticulated naked surface.

The strength of the Beaver in its fore teeth, so as to cut through the trunk of the largest aspen trees, is I believe beyond that of any other animal.

May 29.

Very early in the morning I quitted Genom in a haœ9;p or small boat, such as shall be hereafter described, proceeding along the western branch of the river of Umoea; for the river which takes its name from that place divides into two branches near Gresele, two miles from Umoea. One branch comes from Lycksele, the other, as I was told, from Sorsele. By the western branch, as I have just mentioned, we proceeded to Lycksele. When the sun rose, nothing could be more pleasant than the view of this clear unruffled stream, neither contaminated by floods, nor disturbed by the breath of Æolus. All along its translucent margin the forests which clothed its banks were reflected like another landscape in the water. On both sides were several large level heaths, guarded by steep ramparts towards the river, and these were embellished with plants and bushes, the whole reversed in the water appearing to great advantage. The huge pines, which had hitherto braved Neptune's power, smiled with a fictitious shadow in the stream. Neptune however, in alliance with his brother Æolus, had already triumphed over many of their companions, the former by attacking their roots, while the latter had demolished their branches.

We passed several small islets separated from the main land by the action of the current, as Calnäsholm (the isle of Calnäs), &c. Close to the shore were many Charadrii Hiaticulæ (Ringed Plovers) and Tringæ (Sandpipers). One of the latter my companions shot, but destroyed it so completely that we obtained only a wing and a leg entire, the remaining parts being so torn that I could not make out the species. The foot consisted of four toes, of which the hinder one was very small, and the two external ones joined by a web at their base.

A little further on a couple of young owls were suspended on a tree. On my inquiring what these birds had done to be so served, the rower made me remark, on the most lofty of the fir trees, concave cylinders of wood, closed at top and bottom, and having an aperture on one side. These cylinders are placed on the highest part of the trees, in order to tempt Wild ducks to lay their eggs in them, and they are afterwards plundered by the country people. In one of these nests a brood of young owls had been hatched instead of young ducks.

Presently afterwards the breast of a Cock of the wood was given me to eat, by way of a bait. It had been shot this spring and dried in the sun, without being previously cooked; neither had it so many longitudinal cuts as that I have described in the foregoing pages.

As we proceeded further we saw seven or eight large white swans lying on the water, making a loud noise, and biting one another with their beaks. Cranes also are found here. The rower said he had shot one and nailed it up against the wall, with all its flesh and feathers on. What an absurdity!

The peasant who was my rower and companion had placed nets all along the shore, in which he caught plenty of pike. He had upwards of thirty small nets. The money with which he pays his taxes is chiefly acquired by fishing. A dried pike of twenty pounds weight is sold for a dollar and five marks, silver coin.

In one of the nets he found a large male Goosander caught (Mergus Merganser).

The bill of this bird was long and narrow, of a blood red, blackish on the upper edge. Its upper mandible longest, tipped with a hooked point which rendered it obtuse, and furnished with thirty large teeth pointing inwards. Lower mandible channelled underneath, and furnished with about forty smaller teeth, likewise pointing inwards. A triple row of very small teeth was observable in the upper mandible within the others. Tongue narrow, bordered with bristles and with a double row of very minute teeth. Nostrils oblong, placed in the substance of the bill. Eyes round, with a crimson iris. A pellucid membrane, proceeding from the inner corner of the eye, covers the ball while the bird is diving under water; which is remarkable. It has besides a whitish membrane of greater thickness (membrana nictitans), which closes the eye as in other birds. The head is of a grey colour, with a very long pendulous blackish crest composed of a few light downy feathers. Neck like that of a Woodcock. Breast and belly white. Middle of the back black, with white lateral spots, further on grey or whitish, with transverse undulated lines. The ten outermost large feathers of the wing are black; the inner ones black and white, so that the speculum, or spot of the wing, is very large and white, divided by two black transverse lines. Tail short, ash-coloured. Feet red. Legs compressed. Hind toe very small, with a membranous lobe, and curved inwards. Fore toes three, the outermost of four joints, middle one of three, and the innermost of two only. All the toes are connected by a palmate web, and the innermost has, besides, a marginal longitudinal membrane. The windpipe is remarkable, formed not of half rings, as in most birds, but of circular ones. About the middle it is dilated into a sort of bag, and further down into another smaller one[22].

LYCKSELE LAPLAND.

The river along which we had rowed for the space of almost three miles, and which had hitherto been easily navigable, now threatened us occasionally with interruption, from small shelves forming cascades, and at length we came to three of these, very near each other, which were absolutely impassable. One of them is called the waterfall of Tuken. My companion, after committing all my property to my own care, laid his knapsack on his back, and turning the boat bottom upwards, placed the two oars longitudinally, so as to cross the seats. These rested on his arms as he carried the boat over his head, and thus he scampered away over hills and valleys, so that the devil himself could not have come up with him.

See a sketch of this boat annexed.

Its length was twelve feet, breadth five, and depth two. The thickness of the edge not more than two lines. The four planks which formed each of its sides were of root of spruce fir, each about a span broad and four lines thick. The two transverse boards or seats were of the branches of the same tree. The seams were secured obliquely with cord as thick as a goosequill.

Ice was still to be seen here and there near the shore of the river, though not in any great quantity.

The trees of this neighbourhood are principally Common Fir (Pinus sylvestris), with a smaller proportion of Spruce (P. Abies), and Birch. Now and then some Poplars are to be seen. The shrubs are dwarf kinds of Willow and Dwarf Birch (Betula nana); both now in blossom.

The more humble and herbaceous plants are Ling, (Erica vulgaris and Tetralix[23]), four kinds of Vaccinium, Linnæa[24], Pyrola pyrifolia (P. secunda), Epilobium, Golden rod (Solidago Virga aurea), Empetrum in flower, Dandelion, Convallaria bifolia, Sweet grass (Holcus odoratus) in flower, Small smooth Rush (Juncus filiformis), Jointed water Rush (J. articulatus), Water Horse-tail (Hippuris vulgaris), Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), a Mnium not in fructification, four species of Lycopodium, Andromeda polifolia[25], Milfoil (Achillea Millefolium), and Small Sorrel (Rumex Acetosella).

The birds I remarked were the Ringed Plover (Charadrius Hiaticula), the Red-wing (Turdus iliacus), the Lumme (Colymbus arcticus), the Tufted Duck (Anas Fuligula).

Also a few insects, as Dytiscus natator, &c.

The forest was rendered pleasant by the tender leaves of the Birch, more advanced than any I had hitherto met with, owing to the rain which had fallen the Saturday preceding, and the sunshine of this and the foregoing day.

The banks of the river are composed of sand or small pebbles; on the latter the water had deposited a blackish stain. A little before we reached the church of Lycksele, the fourth waterfall presented itself. This is more considerable than any of the three preceding, falling over a rock. On its brink the curate had erected a mill, which in this mountainous spot wanted no artificial dam, as Nature had prepared one in the most complete manner.

The adjoining mountain consists of a mixed spar, and extends a good way to the right, being in one part very lofty, and perpendicular, like a vast wall, towards the shore. Some islands, rather considerable in size, are seen in the river as we approach this waterfall.

At eight o'clock in the evening I arrived at the hospitable dwelling of Mr. Oladron, the curate of Lycksele, who, as well as his wife, received me with great kindness. They at first advised me to stay with them till the next fast day, the Laplanders not being implicitly to be trusted, and presenting their fire-arms at any stranger who comes upon them unawares, or without some recommendation.

May 30.

In the morning however my hosts changed their opinion, being apprehensive of my journey being impeded by floods if I delayed it.

I here learned the manner in which the Laplanders prepare a kind of cheese or curd, from the milk of the reindeer and the leaves of Sorrel (Rumex Acetosa). They gather a large quantity of these leaves, which they boil in a copper vessel, adding one third part water, stirring it continually with a ladle that it may not burn, and adding fresh leaves from time to time, till the whole acquires the consistence of a syrup. This takes place in six or seven hours, after which it is set by to cool, and is then mixed with the milk, and preserved for use from autumn till the ensuing summer, in wooden vessels, or in the first stomach of the reindeer. It is kept either in the caves of the mountains, or in holes dug in the ground, lest it should be attacked by the mountain mice (Mus Lemmus).

Near the shore at Lycksele I observed vast shoals of those small fishes called the Glirr (Cyprinus Aphya), each about an inch and half long, and two lines broad.

In this place I made a description and sketches of the whole caparison of a reindeer, with the stick used by the Laplanders in driving that useful animal.

The latter, which serves as a walking stick, is round, two feet and half long, and three inches thick, made of wood, see fig. 1. a, is a twisted iron ring, encompassed with several smaller rings of the same metal, b b b, which serve to make a rattling noise to urge the reindeer occasionally to quicken his pace. c, is the head, turned out of a reindeer's horn. d, the handle of turned wood. e, the stick itself, which is likewise turned, of one piece with the handle, and tapering towards the end.

Fig. 2 is the bridle, made of green or blue cloth, bordered with leather, a a, embroidered with tin foil, and fringed at the sides with small strips of list, b b, about six inches long and one broad, of all sorts of colours. Those at c c are only two or three inches long. The cloth is lined on the inside with reindeer skin, stripped of its hair, and dyed red with alder bark, and is in length, from e to e, nine or ten inches, and from e to f about half as much. Its breadth, from f to g, is three inches, but from a a to h h, only an inch and half.

At each end, f f, is a rope two feet long and as thick as a child's finger, covered with the beforementioned kind of red leather, and terminated by a tuft of various-coloured list. At the opposite angles, e e, are two similar cords, bordered on one side for about eight inches each, that is as far as i, with little strips of coloured list. To the part i is fixed a rope of leather like a whip cord, l, twelve feet long, with a noose at each end, one of which goes round the part already described at i.

a a a, h h h, is placed at the forehead of the animal. The ropes, f f, are tied round the horns, so that the tassels of list hang down on each side. e e goes under its neck like a halter, and l is the rein, which is fastened by the noose at its further end round the arm of the driver.

Fig. 3 represents the saddle-cloth, which is about two feet and half long, besides its ornaments, and six or seven inches broad. Its ends, a b and a c, are joined under the reindeer's belly. The straps, d d d, are a foot long.

Fig. 4 is the harness, a foot and half long, and three inches broad, without its decorations. Under this is laid a roll, b, made of reindeer skin, with the hair on, as thick as a man's arm, which contains a twisted net. This is covered in its upper part by a, but the ends, c c, are exposed to view, and covered with blue cloth embroidered with tin foil, each of them terminating in a sort of ball, tied up with a thong, e e, as the hairy part is with another thong.

Fig. 5 has at one end a noose, a, which embraces the two balls just described, from which a double leather thong, three inches broad and four feet long, extends to a transverse piece of bone, c, serving to take hold of the sledge in which the Laplander travels.

No. 3 therefore is placed on the back of the reindeer, b and c being tied together below the shoulders. No. 4 is fixed upon the neck, and fastened with f f over the chest, forming the saddle, the hairy part serving to keep it from galling the animal. The ends, c c, pass between the hind legs, and to them is fixed, as before mentioned, the leather which draws the sledge.

I understood that the water, along part of which I had pursued my route, was divided into broad navigable spaces, interrupted frequently by narrow or precipitous passes, called by the name of a forss, force, of which a long enumeration was given me.

The pasture ground near the parsonage of Lycksele was very poor, but quite the reverse about a quarter of a mile distant. Here the butter was extremely remarkable for its fine yellow colour, approaching almost to a reddish or saffron hue. On my inquiring what kind of herbs most abounded in these pastures, the people gave me a description of one which I judged to be a Melampyrum, and on my drawing a sketch of that kind of plant, they assured me it was what they meant, which is very plentiful in their forests, and is called Kowall[26].

In the school here were only eight scholars.

I procured at Lycksele a Laplander's snuff-box, which is of a round figure, turned out of the horn of a reindeer.

The church of Lycksele, built of timber, was in a very miserable state, so that whenever it rained the congregation were as wet as if they had been in the open air. It had altogether the appearance of a barn. The seats were so narrow that those who sat on them were drawn neck and heels together.

Here was a woman supposed to labour under the misfortune of a brood of frogs in her stomach, owing to her having, in the course of the preceding spring, drunk water which contained the spawn of these animals. She thought she could feel three of them, and that herself, as well as persons who sat near her, could hear them croak. Her uneasiness was in some degree alleviated by drinking brandy. Salt had no effect in destroying the frogs. Another person, who for some years had had the same complaint, took doses of Nux Vomica, and was cured; but even this powerful remedy had been tried on this woman in vain. I advised her to try tar, but that she had already taken without success, having been obliged to throw it up again[27].

May 31.

Divine service being over, I left Lycksele in order to proceed towards Sorsele.

The riches of the Laplanders consist in the number of their reindeer, and in the extent of the ground in which they feed. The poorest people have from fifty to two hundred of these animals; the middle class from three hundred to seven hundred, and the rich possess about a thousand. The lands are from three to five miles in extent. Wild reindeer are seldom met with in Lapmark. They chiefly occur on the common between Granoen and Lycksele. It very often happens that those whose herds are large lose some of their reindeer, which they generally find again in the ensuing season, and they then drive them back to their old companions. If they will not follow the herd, they are immediately killed.

Several parts of Lapmark are inhabited by colonists from Finland, who, by royal license, taking up their abode here, break up the soil into corn and pasture lands[28]. They pay a certain tribute to the crown, and are thenceforth free of all extraordinary taxes, as well as the native Laplanders, being neither obliged to furnish a soldier for the army, nor a sailor for the navy. Whether it be time of peace or war it is all the same to them, as they are burthened with no taxes. These Finlanders are permitted to fix in any part of Lapland in which they find a probability of cultivating the ground to advantage, so that there is no doubt but most part of Lapmark will in time become colonized and filled with villages.

At Easter, Whitsuntide and Christmas, as well as on the four annual festivals by law established, the Laplanders and colonists usually attend divine service at church, where they stay till the holidays are over, and are accommodated in huts adjoining to the sacred edifice. Besides the times above mentioned, the colonists go to church on Lady-day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and the 21st of September or St. Matthew's day. Those who live at no great distance from a church, attend there every other Sunday, to hear a sermon. On the intermediate Sundays, prayers are read to the members of each family at home.

At Whitsuntide this year no Laplander was at church, the pikes happening to spawn just at that time. This fishery constitutes the chief trade of these people, and they were therefore now, for the most part, dispersed among the alps, each in his own tract, in pursuit of this object.

I observed the forests to consist chiefly of Fir and Birch. Where woods of the former had been burnt down, the latter sprung up in abundance, and wherever the Birch abounded, the pasture ground was of the best quality.

At Flaskesele I found Rubus alpinus repens (R. saxatilis), Trientalis, Aconitum lycoctonum, Ulmaria (Spiræa), Podagraria tenuifolia sterilis (probably Angelica sylvestris), Polypodium Dryopteris, Thymelæa of the old writers (Daphne Mezereum), Herb Christopher (Actæa spicata), and Juniper (Juniperus communis); also Lichenoides with a greyish white crust and flesh-coloured tubercles, growing in watery places (Lichen ericetorum), and another on stones with black tubercles. A yellow species with a leafy crust grew on the Juniper (L. juniperinus).

I remarked here water abounding with a red ochraceous sediment like arnotto (Bixa Orellana), such as I had before seen further south. It was chiefly in the bogs near Flaskesele water-fall that this ochre was to be found, and it stained the footsteps of passengers who passed over it. The colonists use it to paint their window-frames red.

The eatable moss of Norway (Lichen islandicus) was here of two kinds, the one broad and scattered, the other in thick tufts about three inches high. Both of them are reddish towards the root, and are certainly only varieties of each other.

Near the water side I met with the nest of a Sandpiper (Tringa Hypoleucos), which is one of the smallest of its genus. The nest was made of straw, and contained four eggs. The parent bird had flown away at my approach.

In the neighbouring forest grew a rare little leafy Lichenoides, of a fine saffron colour beneath, and bearing on the upper side flat oblong shields (Lichen croceus). Also the Boletus perennis (described in Fl. Lapp.), and a small white Agaric with gills alternately forked and undivided.

Adjoining to the cataract of Gransele the strata in the left-hand bank appeared as follows. Under the soil a brown sand, next to it some fathoms depth of white, below which were two fathoms of a purple sand, which lay upon small stones, and those upon larger ones on a level with the water.

The Little Eared Grebe (Colymbus auritus) was here occasionally quite black, or black with white spots under the wings. There was great abundance of Wild Ducks, those birds abounding as much on this side of Lycksele as on the other.

This part of the country is beautifully diversified with hills and valleys, clothed with forests of birch intermixed with fir, which were now reflected by the calm surface of the water.

In the force or water-fall of Gransele are thirteen small islands.

I noticed on both sides of the river several summer huts of the Laplanders, in which they reside, for a short time together, during that season. A Laplander never remains more than a week on one spot, not only because of seeking fresh pasture for his reindeer, but because he cannot bear to stay long in a place. He drives the whole herd together, young and old, into the river, to swim over to the opposite shore, which these animals easily perform, though the stream is more than eight gunshots wide.