I06 R. P. HORNBY'S DIARY. 



We stopped at a little island at the end of 

 10 miles, and cooked our remaining fish. It 

 had been raining for the last hour or two, and 

 we were so cold and miserable, that we took 

 off all our clothes and dried them in front of a 

 roaring fire which the Finns made for us, 

 though it was raining all the time. We also 

 drank our last drop of brandy, which 1 think 

 saved my life, for I was so cold from sitting in 

 the wet boat, that I am sure I could not have 

 survived the last 15 miles of lake, but for 

 it. Lake Kilpisgarvi is 1,350 feet above the 

 sea level and well in the Arctic circle, so it is 

 terribly cold there when the wind is in the 

 north. We got over the last 15 miles some- 

 how, though we were nearly swamped all the 

 way, and then there was only 45 miles of 

 mountains to cross before we reached the sea. 

 We did 20 miles that night, and did not stop 

 till we reached Heligscoran, well over the top 

 of the pass. I have but a hazy recollection of 

 that last 20 miles of mountain climbing till we 

 came to Skibotten. We each carried some- 

 thing on our backs and trudged on in silence, 

 each anxious to be the first to reach Heligs- 

 coran. We forded two rivers which were 

 running the other way down to the sea, and as 

 both were very flooded it was dangerous work. 



