CH A P T E R X X IV .
Departure from Uleaborg-— Difficulty o f travelling to the North Caper
through Lapland in Summer— Plan adopted by the Author and his
Friends— Preparations fo r the Journey : an Accejfion o f two fellow
Travellers-— AffeSUng Farewell— Journey purfued— Defcription o f
a Finlandifh Dance— Some Specimens o f Mufic— Amufement at
Hutta— A rrival at Kemi.
r I "'HE time was now approaching when we were to take leave
o f our friends, and profecute our intended travels to the
North Cape. This journey appeared to* every body at Uleaborg:
chimerical, and a projeét that would be found impracticable on*
experiment. Every perlón o f our acquaintance pictured Lapland
to us in the molt frightful colours : they allured us from authorities
true, or luppofed to be true, that in fummer it was abfolutely
impoflible to find a road, or to pals from one place to another.
Our friends confoled themfelves, in the prolpeCt o f our departure,
with the idea, that we ihould foon ourfelves be convinced o f the
impracticability o f our plan, and being difcouraged by the firlt.
obllacles we ihould meet with, they Ihould foon have the plea-
fure o f feeing us again on our return to Uleâborg.
In the courfe o f our llay here we had itudied to obtain information.
mation refpeCting this journey from every perfon we could hear
o f who had vifited Lapland ; we wrote to a merchant at T orn ea ;
we procured intelligence from fome clerical miffionaries, who had
been in Lapland; but there was not one individual who could
give us the fmallelt advice, as to the manner or even the poffibi-
lity o f travelling in that country in fummer. They all had been
there in winter only, and had travelled in fledges drawn by reindeer
: the miffionaries, in like manner, refide there only in winter,
and return for the fummer to villages which have an open
communication with fome town. There was not an individual
who could furnilh us with a diftina idea, or any fatisfaaory information
on the fubjea. All feemed, to a man, to be firmly o f
opinion that the journey was not to be accompliihed. They knew
perfeaiy well how we might get to Upper Tornea, to Kengis, to
Kollare ; but no mortal could tell us how it was praaieable to
penetrate the length o f Muonionifca. They were pretty accurately
acquainted with the road that leads to the church o f Jukasjervi,
and a lake which forms the fource o f the river Tornea ; but we
chofe to avoid this route, which different travellers had gone before
us, and which is already fufficiently known. W e were re-
folved to follow the footfteps o f no one, but to trace out a line
o f road for ourfelves, or not to engage in it at all. It was our
plan to keep as much as poflible in a line o f the meridian to T o rnea,
and proceed towards the North Cape in the ftraighteft di-
re&ion poflible. In order to gain our objeit, it would be necef-
fary1 to leav.e the river Tornea, to follow the courfe o f the Muo