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JOURNEY OF MAUPERTUIS. 239
vered with fmoke, and the fire, which had reached the foreft below, at intervals broke
out with violence.
Some of the people fent to Horrilakero reporting that the fignal had been damaged
by the fire; we fent to re-con{truct it, a work of no difficulty, from the precautions be-
fore noticed.
The twenty-fecond we went to Poiky Torneo, on the bank of the river where the
northern fignal of the bafe was ftationed, to make the obfervations neceflary to unite it
to the fummit of the mountains ; and on the twenty-third we left it for the other extre-
mity of the bafe, where, on the bank of the river, ata place called Niemifby, the fouthern
fignal was placed. ‘That night we flept in a pretty pleafant meadow, from which M.
Camus the next day went on to Pello, to prepare huts for us, and conftrué an obferva-
tory on Kittis, where we were to make aftronomical obfervations for afcertaining the
amplitude of ourarch. After taking our obfervation from the fouthern fignal, we again
afcended Cuitaperi at night, where the laft obfervation, which was to unite the bafe with
the triangles, was completed on the twenty-fixth.
We had juit learned that the fextant which we expected from England had ar-
rived at Torneo, and we haftened to that place to get it ready with the other inftru-
ments that we had, to carry to Kittis, where the feverity of winter was more to be
dreaded than at Torneo, and where for which reafon we were defirous of beginning
our obfervations for determining the amplitude of the arch, before the frofts fet in.
While all was preparing for the journey to Pello, we went up the fteeple of the church
built on the Ifle of Swentzar, which I notice, in order that it may not be confounded
with the Finnifh church built in the Ifle of Bierckhohn, to the fouth of Swentzar; and
having obferved from this fteeple the angles which it made with our mountains, we
again left Torneo the third of September with-fifteen boats, the largeft fleet which had
ever been feen on the river, and arrived to fleep at Kuckula.
The fucceeding day we reached Korpikyla, and while part of our company continued
their route towards Pello, I fet off on foot with Meffrs. Celfius and Cuthier for the Ka-
kama, where we arrived at nine in the evening through a heavy rain.
The whole fummit of Kakama confifts of foliated white ftone, its leaves having a ver-
tical direction almoft perpendicular to the meridian. Thefe ftones held the rain, which
for fome time back had fallen in fuch manner,, that every part which did not confift of
rock was covered with water ; and it continuing to rain through the night, our obferva-
tions could not be completed till the next day ; we were confequently obliged to pafs a
fecond night as damp and as cold as the preceding: on the fixth our obfervations were
finifhed.
After the uncomfortable ftay that we made at Kakama we left it, and urged by a con-
tinual rain through a foreft where we had difficulty to keep our feet, we exerted our-
felves greatly to get forward, and after five hours walking arrived at Korpikyla: we
flept there that night, and continuing our journey the next day, we reached Pello the
ninth of September, where we met all together.
Our different expeditions, and a refidence of fixty-three days in the defarts, had given
us the beft fucceffion of triangles poffible : a work, the practicability of which was un-
certain, and in which we ran great hazard of not fucceeding, had turned out as fortu-
nately as it could have done, had we poffeffed the power of difpofing the fite of the
mountains at our pleafure.
Our mountains colleétively with the church of Torneo formed a clofe figure, in the
midft of which was Horrilakero, a focus ferving to unite all the triangles of which our
figure was compofed: it was a long heptagon, in the direction of the meridian. Se
igure
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