LAPLAND JOURNEY 
75 
found empty, and Linnaeus became so tired that his 
companion had to go alone on his quest. At last a 
Lapp was found who could not speak a word of 
Swedish, but he took them to his “koja” or tent, and 
regaled them with fish and plain water, all that was 
to be obtained at that time of year, and then guided 
them to his nearest neighbour. They were thus 
passed on from one Lapp to another, till they reached 
the river Juktan, a tributary of the Umea. 
The abominable conditions now reached such a 
pass that the young naturalist found himself in a 
most deplorable state. Wading over the river up to 
the middle in cold water, they could not reach bottom 
in the deepest part with a pole, but were obliged to 
use it as a bridge to pass over in peril of life. 
Immediately afterwards they came to extensive 
marshes, through which they waded a Swedish mile 
(nearly seven English miles) with great trouble, their 
clothes being saturated with icy water, though the 
frost was still unmelted in places. Linnaeus at this 
point became disheartened, and began to regret having 
undertaken such a journey. To add to their distress, 
rain and strong winds set in. At six a.m. they deter¬ 
mined to rest, and lit a fire to dry their drenched 
clothes; the north wind chilled them on one side, the 
fire roasted the other, and mosquitoes attacked them 
on all sides. No parson could describe a worse hell 
than this; no poet could paint the Styx as being so 
hideous. Linnaeus stayed by the fire while his 
companion tried again to find another Lapp. He 
wanted nothing more than to go back downstream, 
but distrusted the hap, as his body was neither iron 
nor steel. The Lapps are born to endure evils, as 
birds to fly, though Linnaeus pitied them. This spot 
was called Lycksmyren, but he thought it should be 
renamed Olycksmyren, i.e., Luckless Marsh. 
The travellers waited till two p.m. for the Lapp, who 
returned utterly wearied, having searched many native 
dwellings in vain, but with him came a being, Linnaeus 
