LYCKSELE LAPLAND. 123 



colonist who was my companion was 

 obliged sometimes to wade along in the 

 river, dragging the boat after him, for 

 half a mile together. His feet and legs 

 were protected by shoes made of birch 

 bark. In the morning we went on shore, 

 in order to inquire for a native Laplander, 

 who would undertake to be my guide 

 further on. Finding only an empty hut at 

 the spot where we landed, we proceeded as 

 fast as we could to the next hut, a quarter 

 of a mile distant, which likewise proved 

 unoccupied. At length we arrived at a 

 third hut, half a mile further, but met with 

 as little success as at the two former, it 

 being quite empty. Upon which I di- 

 spatched my fellow-traveller to a fourth hut, 

 at some distance, to see if he could find 

 any person fit for my purpose, and I be- 

 took myself to the contemplation of the 

 wild scenes of Nature around me. 



The soil here was extremely sterile, con- 

 sisting of barren sand [Arena Glarea) 

 without any large stones or rocks, which 



