6 
TRAVELS 
We had the good fortune to meet here four of the molt expe¬ 
rienced boatmen we had feen in the whole courfe of our travels. 
There was one of them called Simon, whom we named by way 
of eminence, the Bonaparte of the Cataracts. It it impoffible for 
me to give the reader an idea of the excellence of his tallies, his 
courage, his addrefs, the juftnefs of his eye in judging from the 
furface of the water the nature of the bottom, and in afeertain- 
ing, with the moft fcrupulous precifion, the depth of the river. 
Had it not been for the refolution and fteadinefs of this man, our 
expedition muft have ended at Kollare ; for the obftacles to be 
encountered between this place and Muonionifca are fo ferioufly 
difeouraging to common boatmen, that they would have refufed 
to a man to condudl us any farther. 
The palfage from Kollare to Muonionifca is a diftance of fixty- 
fix miles, entirely upon the river Muonio, and conftantly in oppo- 
fition to cataradls and the current. The fortitude and perfeve- 
rance with which thofe people bore this long and extraordinary 
labour, Ihew the altonifhing power of habit. Where the river 
was too ftrong and violent for our boats, which owing to the 
weight they carried drew too much water, to make good their 
palfage, w r e were forced to difembark and haul our empty boats 
along the river. The Finlanders who were employed in dragging 
the boat, kept on the bank, leaping from Hone to Rone, and fome- 
times went up to the middle in water to difengage the rope from 
the rocks, where it had become entangled. Sometimes the boats 
themfelves were obftrudted in their palfage by the rocks, in which 
cafe 
