THROUGH LAPLAND. 
9 
over the land through a thick wood in a boat. We were not in¬ 
human enough, however, to take advantage of Simon’s magnani¬ 
mity, and to place ourfelves in the boat, for its continual friction 
againft the mofs and trees rendered it fo weighty, that it required 
the whole force of our four boatmen to draw a fingle boat at once 
without any thing in it. At length we got to the end of two 
miles, and we were very glad to repofe while our men returned 
for our baggage and the other boat. In the courfe of this journey, 
being invited by an uncommon noife of the river, we drew near 
to have a view of the famous catarad of Muonio-koiki; and 
though we judged it impoffible to defeend with fuch a current, 
we were, neverthelefs, bold enough to attempt and accomplifh it 
on our return. As this catarad is the molt dangerous that we 
palled in the whole courfe of our river navigation, I fhall endea¬ 
vour to give the reader a defeription, as near as I can, of the man¬ 
ner in which the palfage is performed. 
Let him imagine a place where the river is fo hemmed in by 
narrow banks, and fo compreffed with rugged and Ihelving rocks, 
that the current is doubled in its rapidity; let him moreover rc- 
prefent to his mind the formidable inequalities in the bed of the 
river, occafioned by thofc rocks, which can only be paffed by a fort 
of leap, and confequently make the water extremely turbulent; 
let him conceive that, for the fpace of an Englifh mile, this river 
continues in the fame ftate : and let him, after all this, confider 
the hazard to which a boat mull be expofed that ventures itfelf 
on fuch a furface, where both the nature of the channel, and the 
Vol. II. c 
amazing 
