186 
TRAVELS 
he made to dance in the air, by alarming his fears, added new 
wings to his flight. When he had fled to a confiderable diflance 
from us, he appeared from time to time as a dark fpot which con¬ 
tinued to diminifh in the air, and at lafl totally vanifhed from 
our fight. Then it w'as that we recognized the prudence of hav¬ 
ing in our party fome fpare horfes, and w r e were fully fenfible of 
the danger that mull attend a journey acrofs the gulf of Bothnia 
without fuch a precaution. The peafant, who was the owner 
of the fugitive, taking one of the fledges, went in fearch of 
him, trying to find him again by following the traces of his flight. 
As for ourfelves, we made the bell of our way to the ifles of 
Aland, keeping as nearly as we could in the middle of the fame 
plain, flill being repeatedly overturned, and always in danger of 
Iofing one or other of our horfes; which would have occafioned 
a very ferious embarraffment. During the whole of this journey 
we did not meet with, on the ice, fo much as one man, beafl, 
bird, or any living creature. Thofe vaffc folitudes prefent a defert 
abandoned as it were by nature. The dead filence that reigns 
is interrupted only by the whiffling of the winds againfl the pro¬ 
minent points of ice, and fometimes by the loud crackings occa¬ 
fioned by their being irrefiflibly tom from this frozen expanfe ; 
pieces thus forcibly broken off are frequently blown to a confider¬ 
able diflance. Through the rents produced by thefe ruptures, 
you may fee below the watery abyfs ; and it is fometimes necef- 
fary to lay planks acrofs them, by way of bridges, for the fledges 
to pafs over. 
The 
