THROUGH SWEDEN. 
185 
of ail ouf expedients for difcovering the eveneft paths, our fledges 
were every moment overturned to the right or the left; and fre¬ 
quently the legs of one or other of the company, raifed perpendi¬ 
cularly in the air, ferved as a fignal for the whole caravan to halt. 
The inconvenience and the danger of our journey were ftill far¬ 
ther encreafed by the following circumftance. Our horfes were 
made wild and furious, both by the fight and the fmell of our 
great polices, manufactured of the fkins of Ruffian wolves or 
bears. When any of the fledges was overturned, the horfes be¬ 
longing to it, or to that next to it, frighted at the fight of what 
they fuppofed to be a wolf or bear rolling on the ice, would fet 
off at full gallop, to the great terror of both paffenger and driver. 
The peafant, apprehenfive of lofing his horfe in the midft of this 
defert, kept firm hold of the bridle, and fuffered the horfe to drag 
his body through maffes of ice, of which fome fliarp points threat¬ 
ened to cut him in pieces. The animal, at laft wearied out by 
the conftancy of the man, and difheartened by the obftacles con¬ 
tinually oppofed to his flight, would flop ; then we were enabled 
to get again into our fledges, but not till the driver had blind¬ 
folded the animal’s eyes : but one time, one of the wildeft and 
moft fpirited of all the horfes in our train, having taken fright, 
completely made his efcape. The peafant who conduced him, 
unable any longer to endure the fatigue and pain of being dragged 
through the ice, let go his hold of the bridle. The horfe relieved 
from this weight, and feeling himfelf at perfect liberty, redoubled 
his fpeed, and furmounted every impediment. The fledge, which 
Vol. I. B b he 
