102 SOME WANDERINGS IN THE NOBTH OF FINLAND. 



the river Oanas we could then go most of the way by water 

 through a chain of large lakes which stretches almost 

 from one river to the other. We wished to walk, for little 

 can be seen from a boat in the middle of a large lake, so 

 we decided to go a little further northwards and then to 

 try and find our way along the higher ground to the south 

 of the lakes. Soon after we had started a fine Golden Eagle 

 came close over oar heads, pursued by two E,ough-legged 

 Buzzards. How small the Buzzards looked by the side 

 of such a splendid bird ! He sailed slowly round and round, 

 rising higher and higher till all three were out of sight, 

 The Buzzards kept making dashes at him, but they never 

 seemed to touch him, and the only attention he paid to them 

 was to utter a harsh croak occasionally. About midday we 

 left the road and started through the forest with a compass 

 as our guide. It was not long before we found that such 

 travelling was not so easy as we had thought. We soon 

 came to swampy and boggy ground, which was difficult to 

 cross, and even on firm ground it was sometimes trouble- 

 some to fight one's way through thick forest. 



I never really understood before what a forest is like, 

 and I wish I could give you some idea of these northern 

 forests. The trees are nearly all pines and birch, covered 

 with long and hairy lichens, and grow in some places very 

 close together, and at the same time there are numbers of 

 dead trees lying on the ground, or half supported by living 

 ones, so that you are always climbing over obstacles that 

 lie in your wb,j. Sometimes you tread on what seems to be 

 a sound birch trunk, but it crumbles under your foot, for 

 the wood has decayed though the bark is left. The ground 

 is covered with mosses, and bushes bright with various 

 kinds of berries, and every now and then you come to 

 huge ant-hills, much larger than any you will see in 



