174 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



horrible way we came. The good woman conducted us to 

 a side path, whereby we avoided about half a mile' 

 [Swedish] ' of the way we had come. In a shed sup- 

 ported by four posts hung some clothes and a small rein- 

 deer cheese, which I wished to purchase. The woman 

 refused, as she wanted it herself; but my hunger was 

 such that I could not lose sight of this cheese. " I 

 have no desire," she said, " that thou shouldst die 

 in my country for want of food," and at last she let 

 me buy it.' Even she was struck with his wretched 

 appearance. 1 ' We continued our voyage down the 

 river, being carried with great velocity by the current, 

 the whole of the next day. At length coming to an 

 island, the Laplander failed in his attempt to weather it, 

 and the boat, striking against a rock, was dashed to 

 pieces. We both found ourselves in the water. My 

 conductor lost not only his boat, but a hatchet and 

 a pike. I lost two stuffed birds one a large heron, 

 black, with a white breast ; the other a red bird, or 

 gvousachj as the Laplanders call it. 2 With difficulty 

 we got from this island to the shore. 3 The sun shone 

 warm, and after having wrung the water out of our 

 clothes we walked on for about a mile ' [Swedish] ' along 

 the bank of the river, amongst thickets and bogs, 

 till we came in sight of a colonist who was fishing for 



1 He actilly looked as if had been picked off a rock at sea and 

 dragged through a gimlet-hole.' S. SLICK. 



2 Corvus infaustus. 



8 He thinks first of the loss of the birds ; his own rescue is a 

 minor detail. 



