NATURE AND LIFE IN LAPLAND. 455 



the Little Luleii are a series of large lakes, from six to thirty miles 

 long, and varying in breadth from two miles to seven or eight. These 

 in turn are fed by two mountain-rivers, which join their floods at 

 Quickjock, and pour the united stream into the uppermost lake. They 

 are traversed in long, open boats made of very thin wood, and rowed 

 by two or three men, according to the weight of luggage and the 

 length of the journey. These boats are unprovided with seats, and 

 the passengers have to squat at the bottom back to back, or crowded 

 side by side ; and, as very little movement would be sufficient to 

 swamp so frail a craft, the limbs get cramped and stiffened, and the 

 journey becomes very fatiguing. With a high wind the broadest 

 lakes become rough and dangerous, and on one occasion we shipped 

 so much water that it seemed doubtful whether our expedition would 

 not come to an untimely end. Each lake is connected with the next 

 by strong rapids, in some cases rising into small waterfalls, and to 

 avoid these it is necessary to disembark, when the luggage is carried 

 on the shoulders of the rowers through the pine-forests to the next 

 lake. Throughout this part of the trip the silence can almost be felt, 

 and becomes at last oppressive. No living thing is seen for hours ex- 

 cept occasional flights of wild birds, or a solitary heron disturbed by 

 the passage of the boat. Hills, gradually developing into mountains, 

 and finally covered with snow as the neighborhood of Quickjock is 

 reached, shut in the scene, and the slopes of these are covered almost 

 entirely w r ith stunted pine, the birch having nearly disappeared. 

 There is, however, no lack of color, as the firs in the sunlight present 

 many shades of the darker greens intermingled with a rich brown 

 where some disease appears to have attacked the trees. A large 

 sweep of pine-forest thus spread out in an amphitheatre of hills, and 

 seen from a great distance, might be mistaken for an expanse of heather 

 and fern, browned by the autumn rains and sun, though of course the 

 brighter purples are absent from the Lapland view. 



In the summer months there is perpetual daylight in all these 

 regions, and the midnight sun is visible for some time in June. When 

 we were there, in September, it was light till nine or ten o'clock, and 

 never absolutely dark. The sunsets were most gorgeous, dark masses 

 of purple clouds being lit up with the intensest hues of gold and crim- 

 son as .the sun went down behind them, a glowing ball of fire. On 

 one occasion the effect was heightened by the appearance of the east- 

 ern sky, which shaded off from deepest rose at the zenith, through 

 delicate gradations of pinks and purples, into a lovely pale, pure blue, 

 in the midst of which the full autumnal moon shone gloriously. 



The fishing in the lakes is exceedingly good, and very large trout, 

 and even salmon, may be caught with the minnow and other spinning 

 bait. For fly-fishing the best places are the rapids between the lakes, 

 through which the boat is screwed in and out in an extremely clever 

 and dexterous way by the boatman, who takes advantage of the shel- 



