LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 67 
Under these conditions, and remembering that we are far 
within the Arctic Circle, and that the snowfall and the 
gales of winter must severely try the stability of the trees, 
the number of fallen giants is not to be wondered at. But 
though the floor of the forest wears a somewhat more 
desolate aspect than that between Vajkijaur and Ligga, 
the general tone of colour being gray in place of the green 
of the grasses and mosses of the lower country, the dark 
glossy leaves and crimson clusters of the molte-baere, the 
bright crimson of the tiny shrubs of rowan and the deep 
red-brown of the lichens spreading over the larger masses 
of rock diversify the colouring of the landscape pleasantly. 
In places we come across a small stream tinkling musically 
over the boulders between banks fringed with aspen and 
birch thickets, and in secluded spots find the Arctic straw- 
berry flourishing, and bearing a rich crop of delicious 
aromatic fruit. A walk of ten miles brings us to the Stora 
Lule again, here a river of some two hundred yards across, 
its deep blue waters flecked with huge masses of creamy 
foam, the product of the mighty fall, the thunder of which, 
echoing from out the deep canyon in which it is secluded, 
now falls plainly on our ears. We find a boat hauled up 
in a quiet nook among the rocks, and paddle across to the 
left bank of the river, from which the Ananas Mountains 
rise in a steep slope of birch forest, now ablaze with the 
golden splendour of autumnal tints. Hence to the foot of 
the falls is a distance of some two miles, at first a walk 
over a smooth lawn of short sweet grass, on which we find 
the poles, erected in circular shape, ofa Lapp encampment, 
and finally a rough scramble over huge masses of rock under 
the lee of which thickets of Arctic raspberries afford us a 
rich feast, the delights of which, however, are a trifle 
marred by the clouds of mosquitoes and midges which as 
yet have survived the early frosts. 
‘ As we gaze down into ‘the deep canyon, and trace the 
course of the river from the broad blue reach above the 
falls, over the three great plunges and down the series of 
rapids by which they are connected, surveying the whole 
