Part 8

The bountiful provision of Nature is evinced in providing mankind with bed and bedding even in this savage wilderness. The great Hair-moss (_Polytrichum commune_), called by the Laplanders Romsi, grows copiously in their damp forests, and is used for this purpose. They choose the starry-headed plants, out of the tufts of which they cut a surface as large as they please for a bed or bolster, separating it from the earth beneath; and although the shoots are scarcely branched, they are nevertheless so entangled at the roots as not to be separable from each other. This mossy cushion is very soft and elastic, not growing hard by pressure; and if a similar portion of it be made to serve as a coverlet, nothing can be more warm and comfortable. I have often made use of it with admiration; and if any writer had published a description of this simple contrivance, which necessity has taught the Laplanders, I should almost imagine that our counterpanes were but an imitation of it. They fold this bed together, tying it up into a roll that may be grasped by a man's arms, which if necessary they carry with them to the place where they mean to sleep the night following. If it becomes too dry and compressed, its former elasticity is restored by a little moisture.

_June 6._

In order to observe how fast the water rose in the river, which was increasing daily, I had fixed a perpendicular stick the preceding evening at eight o'clock close to the margin of the stream. This morning at five it had gained a foot in depth and two feet in breadth. Near the bank, which is continually undermining in some part or other by the current, stones are found incrusted with sand, coagulated as it were about them by means of iron. Some of them seem as if they had been blown to pieces with gunpowder.

I was told that the peasants had in the winter preceding foretold an unusual rise of the river, and a great flood, in the course of this summer, which when it happens is a considerable detriment to those whose pasture grounds are overflowed by it. Their mode of judging is by the swelling of the stream in winter, to which they observe that in the ensuing summer always to bear a proportion.

The colonists settled in Lapmark sow a great deal of turnip seed, which frequently succeeds very well and produces a plentiful crop. The native Laplanders are so fond of this root, that they will often give a cheese in exchange for a turnip; than which nothing can be more foolish.

At Gr[:a]no I met with perfectly white flowers of the Dog's Violet (_Viola canina_): also _Bistorta alpina sobolifera_, or more properly perhaps _vivipara_ (_Polygonum viviparum_), as the bulbs had grown out into small leaves.

Rain fell in the night, accompanied with thunder and lightning.

_June 7._

Early in the morning I left Gr[:a]no, and in passing through the forest observed on the Juniper magnificent specimens of that gelatinous substance, about which and its heroic virtues in curing the jaundice so much has been said[37]. I picked up a curious insect which I then named _Cantharis niger maculatus et undulatus_ (_Cicindela sylvatica_), and which I afterwards met with in great abundance throughout the pine forests of this province, though rare elsewhere, flying or running with great celerity along the roads and paths. Here also it was my fortune to see a rare bird not hitherto described. If I am not mistaken, it is what Professor Rudbeck called _Pica Lapponum_. I could only examine it through my spying-glass, but I perceived all the characters of a _Turdus_, so that I do not scruple to define it _Turdus caud[^a]_, _rubr[^a] medio cinere[^a]_. It had moreover the flight and voice of a _Turdus_, screaming in the same manner. Towards evening I noticed a black sort of Plover, with legs of a yellowish green, and had also an opportunity of killing a Lomm (_Colymbus arcticus_), which I stuffed, and of which I made a description in my ornithological manuscript. The bill was not toothed.

[37] _Tremella juniperina_ of Linnaeus, _T. Sabinae_ of Dickson: see _English Botany, v. 10, t. 710_, which I am persuaded is merely an exudation from the shrub that bears it.

Towards evening I reached Stocknasmark and Iamtboht, where grew the pretty little _Cameraria_ of Ruppius and Dillenius (_Montia fontana_), a plant that had never fallen in my way before. In K[:a]llheden it was peculiarly abundant, and afterwards I found it common throughout Westbothnia. It is one of the smallest of plants.

The Laplanders in this neighbourhood had set traps to catch squirrels. Each consists of a piece of wood cloven half way down, and baited with a piece of dried fungus with which the animal is enticed. The fungus used for this purpose is an Agaric with a bulbous stalk and crimson cap (_A. integer [beta]. Sp. Pl._).

In the huts I observed suspended over the tables two tails of the great female Wood Grous (_Tetrao Urogallus_), spread so as to make a kind of circular fan, which had a handsome appearance.

The Little Cotton-Grass (_Eriophorum alpinum_) and the _Mesomora_ (_Cornus suecica_) grow abundantly in this neighbourhood. About the water were several _Ephemerae_. I also caught a little insect of the beetle (or coleopterous) kind, the shells of which were red, the thorax blue with a red margin, the whole shining with a tinge of gold. In Lapland are scarcely any fleas, no bugs, though plenty of lice, nor any frogs nor serpents.

_June 8._

Very early in the morning I set out again on my journey, and in my way examined the Palmated Orchis with a green or pale flower, differing from all others in the shape of its nectary, which is like a bag and not a spur. Hence I have referred it to _Satyrium_ (_S. viride_). It connects that genus with the real _Orchides_ with palmate bulbs[38].

[38] The more correct characters, founded by Haller and Swartz on the anthers, reduce this plant very successfully to the genus _Orchis_, with _Satyrium hircinum_ likewise.

I remarked that all the women hereabouts feed their infants by means of a horn, nor do they take the trouble of boiling the milk which they thus administer, so that no wonder the children have worms. I could not help being astonished that these peasants did not suckle their children.

About four o'clock in the afternoon I found myself once more at the town of Umoea. Large flies like gnats with great black wings were flying about in the air, which I had before taken, May 27, for some species of _Musca_; but their peculiar flight now gave me another opinion, which was strengthened by the form of their poisers (_halteres_) and the round entire figure of their wings. (_Empis borealis_). Here I found a curious Ladybird (_Coccinella trifasciata_) of an orange colour, with oblong, not round, spots.

A remarkable change had taken place in the appearance of the country during the fortnight which had elapsed since I was here before. The Aspen trees were then quite leafless; now they were in full foliage; the grass was very dry, and about a quarter (of an ell?) high.

It is a general practice throughout Lapland in the autumn to set traps in the more unfrequented parts of the woods to catch the Wood Grous (_Urogallus_). Some of these traps were still remaining, but I could never properly observe their construction till I met with one in the course of this day's journey. This machine consists of six parallel pieces of wood, each at a little distance from the next, and all joined together by a transverse piece at each end. Over them the twig of a tree is placed horizontally, one end of it being fastened to the frame, the other introduced into a loop holding a weight. An upright splinter of wood is made to support this twig in an arched position, so that when the bird goes under it to roost, or otherwise touches the splinter, the latter falls down, and the bird is caught.

This being a day of public thanksgiving, I remained at Umoea.

Agues are very uncommon in this country, but St. Anthony's fire seems to be proportionably more frequent, insomuch that every body complains of being troubled with it. At Upsal and Stockholm agues are common, and at Lund acute fevers terminate in that complaint.

Throughout Lycksele Lapland there are no other domestic animals than Reindeer and Dogs. The latter are generally of a hoary grey colour, and a middling size.

The Laplanders use no artificial beverage.

_June 9._

Near the town of Umoea, in a springy spot on the side of a hill, I met with three or four curious species of moss.

1. A kind of _Hypnum_ or _Polytrichum_, with a branched stem bearing flowers in the form of shields. (_Mnium fontanum Sp. Pl. Bartramia fontana Fl. Brit._ The male plant.)

From the root arises an oblique stem (a) about half an inch long, entirely clothed with very sharp-pointed leaves. From thence the main stem (b) grows perpendicularly to the height of an inch, of a purple colour, clothed with ovate, acute, membranous, whitish scales, each half embracing the stem. Between the bases of these is a solitary line or rib, into which they are inserted in an alternate order. I imagine the oblique part of the stem (a) to be of autumnal or winter growth, and the upright portion (b) to have been put forth in summer or spring. At the summit of the latter stands a sort of blossom (c), composed of six scales, of which the three lower are opposite and shortest; the three upper larger, ovate, pointed, somewhat spreading, permanent, of a whitish green colour. Within these scales or petals is a flat, or slightly convex, disk, composed of innumerable very slender whitish filaments with reddish tips, much shorter than the surrounding scales. Can these filaments be the stamens? They are by no means rudiments of leaves. One, two or three branches grow out at the base of this flower, the latter being for the most part perennial, and go through the same mode of growth and flowering as the parent plant. The calyx therefore, contrary to the nature of the common _Polytrichum_, is proliferous from its base.

It is curious that all the flowers, in each tuft composed perhaps of a hundred plants, rise exactly to the same level. It is also remarkable that the new stems form a similar angle to that made by the growth of the preceding year (d), so that the whole assemblage of them is as regularly disposed as a body of soldiers.

2. This moss (_Bartramia fontana_, the female plant) agrees in many respects with the preceding, but differs in the following particulars. The roots or shoots of the preceding year are quite black, while those of the present season are of a paler or whitish green; nor are the scaly leaves so far remote from each other as that the red stem appears so regularly between them. The plants are also more branched, and less curved. In the last place, this is a fruit-bearing kind, having purple stalks two inches long, each of which sustains a globular head, larger than usual in mosses, bent obliquely, and of a green colour. The _calyptra_ or veil is remarkably small, smooth, and membranous.

3. is a moss (_Bryum bimum Fl. Brit. Engl. Bot. t. 1518._) whose stem and leaves partake of a blood-red hue. The latter are regularly and alternately imbricated, oblong, pointed; the upper ones forming a head at the summits of the branches, as in No. 1, but the disk is not exposed, for the lower leaves which surround it are the longest, and the inner ones shortest, just the reverse of No. 1. This No. 3 therefore is the male, and No. 4 the female, both found on the same plant[39]. The latter bears, on a long purple stalk, greenish at the upper part, an oblong pear-shaped pendulous head (or capsule). The veil is very small.

[39] Here we find the Hedwigian theory of the fructification of mosses forestalled by the good sense and accurate observation of Linnaeus, though out of respect for Dillenius he soon after adopted the erroneous opinion of the latter, making what is really the male the female, and _vice versa_. See Transactions of the Linnaean Society, _v._ 7. 255. Not being able to investigate every point of systematical and physiological botany thoroughly himself, he, with amiable deference, often trusted to those who had more particularly studied certain subjects.

5. is a small _Lichen_ or _Marchantia_ (_Riccia_) with oblong leaves, contracted in the middle, sprinkled with brown powder.

The annexed figure represents a large kind of gnat caught in the same place (_Tipula rivosa_).

_June 10._

(Here occur in the manuscript long Latin descriptions of _Rubus arcticus_ and _Betula nana_, which are printed in a more finished state in the _Flora Lapponica_, _ed._ 2. 170 and 274.)

_June 11._

Being Sunday, and a day of continued rain, I remained at Umoea.

_June 12._

I took my departure very early in the morning. The weather was so hazy I could not see the distance of half a gun-shot before me. I wandered along in a perpetual mist, which made the grass as wet as if it had rained. The sun appeared quite dim, wading as it were through the clouds. By nine o'clock the mists began to disperse, and the sun shone forth. The Spruce Fir (_Pinus Abies_), hitherto of an uniform dark green, now began to put forth its lighter-coloured buds, a welcome sign of advancing summer[40].

[40] Linnaeus, in the _Am[oe]nitates Academicae_, says the Swedish summer is in its highest beauty when "the fresh shoots of the fir illuminate the woods."

_Chamaedaphne_ of Buxbaum (_Andromeda polifolia_) was at this time in its highest beauty, decorating the marshy grounds in a most agreeable manner. The flowers are quite blood-red before they expand, but when full-grown the corolla is of a flesh-colour. Scarcely any painter's art can so happily imitate the beauty of a fine female complexion; still less could any artificial colour upon the face itself bear a comparison with this lovely blossom. As I contemplated it I could not help thinking of Andromeda as described by the poets; and the more I meditated upon their descriptions, the more applicable they seemed to the little plant before me, so that if these writers had had it in view, they could scarcely have contrived a more apposite fable. Andromeda is represented by them as a virgin of most exquisite and unrivalled charms; but these charms remain in perfection only so long as she retains her virgin purity, which is also applicable to the plant, now preparing to celebrate its nuptials. This plant is always fixed on some little turfy hillock in the midst of the swamps, as Andromeda herself was chained to a rock in the sea, which bathed her feet, as the fresh water does the roots of the plant. Dragons and venomous serpents surrounded her, as toads and other reptiles frequent the abode of her vegetable prototype, and, when they pair in the spring, throw mud and water over its leaves and branches. As the distressed virgin cast down her blushing face through excessive affliction, so does the rosy-coloured flower hang its head, growing paler and paler till it withers away. Hence, as this plant forms a new genus, I have chosen for it the name of _Andromeda_[41].

[41] Linnaeus has drawn this fanciful analogy further in his _Flora Lapponica_. "At length," says he, "comes Perseus in the shape of Summer, dries up the surrounding water and destroys the monsters, rendering the damsel a fruitful mother, who then carries her head (the capsule) erect."

Every where near the road grew the _Mesomora_ or Herbaceous Cornel (_Cornus suecica_, very minutely described in _Fl. Lapp. ed. 2. 39_. See also _English Botany, v. 5. t. 310_.).

All the little woods and copses by the road side abounded with Butterflies of the Fritillary tribe, without silver spots. The great Dragon Fly with two flat lobes at its tail (_Libellula forcipata_), and another species with blue wings (_L. Virgo_), were also common.

Various modes of rocking children in cradles are adopted in different places. In Smoland the cradle is suspended by an elastic pole, on which it swings up and down perpendicularly. The poorer Laplanders rock their infants on branches of trees, but those of superior rank have cradles that commonly roll from side to side. In the part of the country where I was now travelling, the cradles rock vertically, or from head to foot, as in the figure.

Close to the road hung the under jaw of a Horse, having six fore teeth, much worn and blunted, two canine teeth, and at a distance from the latter twelve grinders, six on each side. If I knew how many teeth and of what peculiar form, as well as how many udders, and where situated, each animal has, I should perhaps be able to contrive a most natural methodical arrangement of quadrupeds[42].

[42] Here the Linnaean system of _Mammalia_ seems first to have occurred to the mind of its author.

I could not help remarking that the very best fields of this part of the country, in which from six to ten barns commonly stood, were almost entirely occupied with turfy hillocks producing nothing but Hair-moss, _Polytrichum_, and that quite dried up. Some of the barns were evidently in a decayed state; which made me suspect this condition of the land to be an increasing evil, and that it had formerly been more productive than at present. Indeed some of these tumps were so close together that no grass had room to grow between them. If the cause of this evil, and a cure for it, could be discovered, the husbandman would have reason to rejoice. Wherever these hillocks abounded, the earth seemed to be of a loose texture, consisting of either mud or clay. When I stepped upon them they gave way, and when cut open they appeared all hollow and unsound. I conceive the frost to have a great share in their formation, which when it leaves the ground causes a vacuity, and the turf, loosened from the soil, is raised up.

The insects which occurred to my notice this day, besides those above mentioned, were the following:

A black _Ichneumon_, like a Humble Bee, with club-shaped antennae four lines long, and blueish wings. Its mouth armed with a pair of toothed forceps. Thorax hairy, with several smooth spots interspersed. Abdomen depressed, ovate, rough at the base with greyish hairs, and furnished with a series of scales beneath, see fig. b. Feet pale red, otherwise the general colour of the insect is black. It lives on the willow. (This appears to be the _Tenthredo lucorum_, a species not preserved in the Linnaean cabinet.)

A small _Papilio_, of the fritillary tribe, with one silver mark underneath of the form of a shield. See it among those of Petiver collected in Portugal. (This must surely be _Papilio C album_.)

A greyish Butterfly with feathered antennae, whose female has no wings. See Swammerdam. (_Phalaena antiqua._)

An elegant little blackish Butterfly, besprinkled with snow-white spots like rings, smooth and polished on the under side, was very plentiful in the paths.

A black _Tipula_ was running over the water, and turning round like a _Gyrinus_ or Water Flea. (_Cimex lacustris._)

In the wells, the _Swammerdamia_ of Swammerdam and Lister ran about with great velocity. Among these was a very minute insect, which I could not ascertain.

An _Elasticus_, (_Elater_, probably the _aeneus_,) of a golden black, with striated cases to the wings, and geniculated antennae.

A reddish _Cantharis_, with black antennae, and light grey cases to the wings.

I now entered the territory of Pithoea. It rained about eleven o'clock for half an hour, otherwise the day was fine.

PITHOEA.

_June 13._

A very bright and calm day. The great Myrgiolingen[43] was flying in the marshes.

[43] What this word expresses I am unable to determine.

The country here is rather flat, yet now and then considerable hills present themselves, not very high indeed, but abounding in steep declivities. The stones about these hills were variegated, and as if inlaid, glittering with talc; many of them rusty, and spontaneously corroded. On one spot, in the road itself, is produced a brown pale-purplish earth, which is very likely to be useful for painting. The hill where this earth or ochre is found is called H['o]gmarkb[oe]rget.

At the post-houses of Gremers-mark and Sela, I was told of a mountain about two miles distant, reported to contain copper. Three years previous to my travelling this way, a man had been sent by the Board for Mining Affairs to investigate this mountain; but the peasants of the neighbourhood, in consequence of the threats of the burghers of Umoea, were deterred from giving him proper directions, and put him on a wrong scent. They kept this stranger from the knowledge of Hans Person, a peasant at Webomark, who would have conducted him right. The father of this Hans was the first discoverer of the mountain in question, and undertook a journey to Stockholm with a small barrel of the ore; but before he set off, his neighbours made him drunk, and took out the proper ore, replacing it in his barrel with lumps of granite. His son is now at all times ready to show the mountain to any one who inquires for it, and I had some thoughts of going to find out this man, though his residence was far out of my road. Learning however that he was not now at home, but employed somewhere at a distance in building or repairing a bridge, I thought it useless to inquire any further.

At some few places at which I stopped for refreshment in the course of this day's journey, I procured some of that preparation of milk called _S[:a]tmiolk_, by some people _T[:a]tmiolk_. In the neighbourhood grows the plant called _T[:a]tgrass_, or _Pinguicula_, with its most curiously constructed flower. When the inhabitants of these parts once procure this plant, they avail themselves of it during the whole year; for they preserve it dried through the winter, and use it as a kind of rennet till the return of spring.

Here also I learned another preparation of milk. After cheese is made, the whey is boiled and skimmed, which operation is repeated till a sediment forms as thick as flummery. This is afterwards dried, and kept in casks for use. It makes an ingredient in bread, and is called _Mesosm[:o]r_.

The fire-places here were furnished with a regular apparatus for boiling the kettle. The Laplanders in general content themselves for this purpose with a large stick, which they place obliquely in the ground, so as to lean over the fire, and on which they suspend either a kettle or a fish; but here they have adopted quite another mode.

A square beam (a) is placed perpendicularly, so as to be turned upon a pivot at its base. To this a transverse beam (b) is fixed by a peg or joint, so that its extremity may be moved up or down, and teeth are cut in this beam, to hang the kettle upon, at a greater or less distance from the upright support. Underneath is another shorter piece of wood (c), forked at the extremity to catch the lower teeth of the last-mentioned beam, and fixed likewise by a joint at its base, in order to be elevated more or less at pleasure. The advantages of this contrivance are many.

1, the materials cost nothing, whereas any iron machinery is expensive.

2, here is no waste, for iron may be employed to more important purposes.

3, this is capable of being raised higher or lower according as the height of the fire may require, which an iron trivet cannot.

4, the iron trivet is troublesome to move about, which this machine does not require.

5, when the trivet happens to lose one of its feet, it is no longer of any use.

6, the circular part of the iron trivet must be proportioned to the size of the kettle it is to support, but this machine will hold any sized kettle.