DALECARLIAN JOURNEY 
103 
wild reindeer. That night was spent in a cattle-shed 
at Idre. Their fell journey was now ended, and soon 
they met with the first quarter-mile post [if mile, 
English] and thus knew they had regained the haunts 
of civilization; next night they were at Sarna rectory. 
Wearied with the ceaseless difficulties, the travel¬ 
lers rested the next day and part of the following 
one. After a short journey, they stopped in the forest 
of Hostakallan for the night; the gnats plagued them, 
and at dawn heavy rain made the tent worse inside 
than outside, “ as the raindrops were fewer outside 
than in.” They struck south towards Lima, and in 
the afternoon, the rain ceasing, a boat took them down 
the river, to their great content. Late in the day they 
came to Sahla, and the next day, 3rd August, they 
voyaged to Transtrand, where they found a singular 
personage, Lars Dahl, who was the chaplain there, 
garbed poorly, simple in gestures, of wise discourse 
and learned, though neglected by the world. Passing 
Lima, Malung, and Appelbo to Nas, without noting 
any remarkable things, they reached Falun on the 
17th, in the last stage encountering a silly woman, 
who took them for thieves, and thus the end of the 
expedition resembled the beginning. The journey 
had taken six weeks and three days, the total distance 
being reckoned at 313-J quarter miles [a little more 
than 518 English miles]. 
There can be no question that Linnaeus and his 
young comrades had well carried out their commission. 
As the diary shows, they had open eyes for everything 
and open ears for what they could hear from trust¬ 
worthy persons. Naturally the credit belongs chiefly 
to Linnaeus, whose knowledge of nature’s various 
dominions, and his experience gained in other jour¬ 
neys, with his planning, his conception, accuracy, and 
scientific balance, were certain to lead to nothing else 
than a good result. 
Nevertheless, all the expected results were not 
attained: this applies chiefly to the botanic part. 
