ISTOMA’S VOYAGE. 
55 
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teen miles, and crossed an ' arm of the sea, they followed the 
western strand, leaving on their right the open sea, which like 
the neighbouring mountains has its name from the river Petzora. 
They came here to a people called Fin-Lapps, who, though they 
dwell in low wretched huts by the sea, and live almost like wild 
beasts, in any case are said to be much more peaceable than the 
people who are called wild Lapps. Then, after they had passed 
the land of the Lapps and sailed forward eighty miles, they came 
to the land, Nortpoden, which is part of the dominions of the 
King of Sweden. This region the Kutheni call Kayenska 
Selma, and the people they call Kayeni. After sailing thence 
along a very indented coast which jutted out to the right, they 
came to a peninsula, called the Holy Nose,^ consisting of a 
great rock, which like a nose projects into the sea. But in this 
there is a grotto or hollow which for six hours at a time 
swallows up water, and then with great noise and din casts out 
again in Avhirls the water which it had swallowed. Some call 
it the navel of the sea, others Charybdis. It is said that this 
whirlpool has such power, that it draws to itself ships and other 
things in its neighbourhood and swallows them. Istoma said 
that he had never been in such danger as at that place, because 
the whirlpool drew the ship in which he travelled with such 
force, that it was only by extreme exertion at the oars tliat 
they could escape. After passing this Holy Nose they came to 
a rocky promontory, which they had to sail round. After having 
waited here some days on account of head winds, the skipper 
said: ' This rock, which ye see, is called Semes, and we shall 
not get so easily past it if it be not propitiated by some offer¬ 
ing.’ Istoma said that he reproved the skipper for his foolish 
superstition, on which the reprimanded skipper said nothing 
more. They waited thus the fourth day at the place on ac¬ 
count of the stormy state of the sea, but after that the storm 
ceased, and the anchor was weighed. When the voyage was 
now continued with a favourable wind, the skipper said: ‘ You 
laughed at my advice to propitiate the Semes rock, and con¬ 
sidered it a foolish superstition, but it certainly would have 
been impossible for us to get past it, if I had not secretly by 
night ascended the rock and sacrificed.’ To the inquiry what 
he had offered, the skipper replied; ‘ I scattered oatmeal 
mixed with butter on the projecting rock which we saw.’ 
As they sailed further they came to another great promontory, 
^ An unfortunate translation, which often occurs in old works, of 
Swjatoinos, “ the holy headland.” 
