could delire in the mild and rural llyle. As we approached clofe
to the mountain we came upon a large lake which forms the
fource o f the river. This lake is intercepted, however, by a ca-
ta ra il of very conliderable length, io incumbered with ilones,
th a t fcarcely an empty boat could have proceeded upon it. The
neceffities of thele people impelled them to make an attempt to
remove fome of the Ilones in this lake, and to turn them to one
lide for the purpofe of deepening the water in the middle, and fo
to facilitate the palfage of their filhing-boats. We were allured,
that the full perfons who iucceeded in furmounting the obllacles
which feparated the navigable part of this river from the lake,
had each of them, after fifteen days filhing, four'or five barrels of
filh for his own lhare.
Mount Pallas, at a dillance, has a very fallacious appearance,
feeming to be of no conliderable fize, but becomes more impoling
in proportion as you approach it. The parfon informed us, that the
Finlanders have fix words to exprels a mountain, each of which
ferves to denote lome dillinilive quality in the o b je it; viz. ill,
Sadio, which fignifies a fmall rifing ground, fumilhed with wood ;
2dly, Rova, one of a more conliderable eminence, covered with
ilones; 3dly, War a, a hill with a tuft of trees ; 4thly, Kero, a
large hill with brulhwood here and there on the furface; Sthly,
Tunduri, denoting a high naked mountain; and alio a Oth name,
which is Selke, fignifying a long hill, without any allufion to its
height.
After doubling certain points and promontories, we rowed the
boat
boat as near as we could to the mount Keimio-tunduri, which we
immediately began to climb. The afcent is extremely difficult
and troublefome, in as much as we had not only to climb, but
to open a palfage with our hands acrols woods which nobody perhaps
ever penetrated before, at leait certainly not from motives of
amufement. At lall we came to a part o f the mountain which is
bare of trees, where we found, with lome concern, th a t it was im-
poffible for us to get to mount Pallas, by realbn of fwamps and
finall lakes, which infulated the mountain, and which were them-
felves fecluded from one another by impalfable marlhes. A t the
top of Keimio we had all around under our eye a vail prolbedl,
which afforded us a moll perfeil idea of the country. T o wards
the eall and well, the furface is covered with finall hills as
far as the eye can reach, whofe tops feemed to mix with the Ikies
at the horizon; northward, mount Pallas lifts his head far above
the other objedls, and looks down upon all the adjacent mountains
: but the view towards the louth prefented an immenfe tra il
of country wholly inacceffible and impenetrable to man, confiding
of a difmal and dreary extent of fwamps and marlhy foil.
The whole of what we law was more calculated to interell a
geographer than -a painter, who could perceive very little that
would fuit the purpoles of his art. Between us and mount Pallas
lay a finall lake, on whofe furface the ice had not yet entirely
difappeared: being fituated in the bottom of the valley, it was
fcreened from the lolar rays,- and as it was probably formed of
fnow water, which had run down from the mountains, it might
V ol. 9 E be