CH A P TE R X XVIII.
Stale o f the Road from Tornea to Upper Tornea— The People that
inhabit this Tradì o f Country— Ofuer Tornea, or Upper Tornea
— The Superintendent Minifler o f that Parifh— Hofpitality o f the
Clergy, and their Attention to Travellers— Vifit to Mount Ava-
fa x a : the Account which Maupertuis has given o f this Mountain,
very accurate— Remains o f Signals upon the Mountain— Infette and
Plants found on, or near Mount Avafaxa. Flora Avafaxenfts—
Meat kept very long in the cold Seafon— Departure from Upper
Torneà ; Lofs o f one fellow Traveller who returned home.
r I ''H E whole o f the road from Torneà to Upper Tornea is tolerably
well formed, and kept, as I obferved before, in good
repair, and o f a fufficient breadth to admit o f travelling in any fort
of carriage : it has been made in the courie o f the kt.it thirty years.
When De la Motraye* was in this country, he was obliged to perform
his journey in a boat. Travellers ihould contrive it ib as
never to have occafion for more than four horfos at a time, as you
meet with ilages where there are no more to be found. I f it
ihould fo happen that a greater number is wanted, the company
ihould divide into two parties, one going on a day before the
* See his Travels.
other,
other, who will have.the fame horfes after they are returned from
the firit.
The country rifes into fmall, hills, which here and there are
covered with pine and fir-trees. In the vicinity o f rivers, and in
marihy ground, the willow and birch-tree feem to be favourites
o f the foil. The profpeél affords nothing very intereiling, except
the continual prefence o f the fun, which, as he never leaves the
horizon, renders travelling by night extremely agreeable.
The inhabitants, on the whole o f this route, are o f the true
Finniih race,' and fpeak the genuine language o f Finland ; they
all have the fame habits, the fame ftature, the fame drefs, the
fame wants, and the fame manner o f living.
Ofver Torneâ, or Upper Torneâ, is the pariih which has the
fuperintendence of all the clergy and churches o f that part of
Lapland, which is in the dependence o f Torneâ. T he head mini-
iler o f the pariih is the reverend Mr. Swamberg. Having paid our
compliments to him, he infilled on our lodging at his houfe with
our whole company, ten perfons in all. T h e place where travellers
commonly Hop, is the village o f Mattarange, at the diilance
o f about a hundred yards from the clergyman’s houfe ; but Mr.
Cailrein, who was o f our party, being himfelf a fuperintendent,
and o f the fame rank with Mr. Swamberg, could not have remained
with us, or done lefs than ileep at the houfe o f a brother
clergyman. There was ilill a more cogent reafon for our lodging
with Mr. Swamberg, namely, that at Mattarange the accommodations
are miferably bad, and would not have been capacious
3 A 2 enough