Lachesis Lapponica; Or, A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1Linné, Carl von
History
Lachesis Lapponica; Or, A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1
Linné, Carl von
Lapland -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Lapland
An _Elasticus_, (_Elater_, probably the _æneus_,) of a golden black,
with striated cases to the wings, and geniculated antennæ.
A reddish _Cantharis_, with black antennæ, and light grey cases to the
wings.
I now entered the territory of Pithoea. It rained about eleven o'clock
for half an hour, otherwise the day was fine.
PITHOEA.
_June 13._
A very bright and calm day. The great Myrgiolingen[43] was flying in the
marshes.
[43] What this word expresses I am unable to determine.
The country here is rather flat, yet now and then considerable hills
present themselves, not very high indeed, but abounding in steep
declivities. The stones about these hills were variegated, and as if
inlaid, glittering with talc; many of them rusty, and spontaneously
corroded. On one spot, in the road itself, is produced a brown
pale-purplish earth, which is very likely to be useful for painting. The
hill where this earth or ochre is found is called Hógmarkbœrget.
At the post-houses of Gremers-mark and Sela, I was told of a mountain
about two miles distant, reported to contain copper. Three years
previous to my travelling this way, a man had been sent by the Board for
Mining Affairs to investigate this mountain; but the peasants of the
neighbourhood, in consequence of the threats of the burghers of Umoea,
were deterred from giving him proper directions, and put him on a wrong
scent. They kept this stranger from the knowledge of Hans Person, a
peasant at Webomark, who would have conducted him right. The father of
this Hans was the first discoverer of the mountain in question, and
undertook a journey to Stockholm with a small barrel of the ore; but
before he set off, his neighbours made him drunk, and took out the
proper ore, replacing it in his barrel with lumps of granite. His son is
now at all times ready to show the mountain to any one who inquires for
it, and I had some thoughts of going to find out this man, though his
residence was far out of my road. Learning however that he was not now
at home, but employed somewhere at a distance in building or repairing a
bridge, I thought it useless to inquire any further.
At some few places at which I stopped for refreshment in the course of
this day's journey, I procured some of that preparation of milk called
_Sätmiolk_, by some people _Tätmiolk_. In the neighbourhood grows the
plant called _Tätgrass_, or _Pinguicula_, with its most curiously
constructed flower. When the inhabitants of these parts once procure
this plant, they avail themselves of it during the whole year; for they
preserve it dried through the winter, and use it as a kind of rennet
till the return of spring.
Here also I learned another preparation of milk. After cheese is made,
the whey is boiled and skimmed, which operation is repeated till a
sediment forms as thick as flummery. This is afterwards dried, and kept
in casks for use. It makes an ingredient in bread, and is called
_Mesosmör_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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