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OUTHIER’S JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO THE NORTH. 285
mouth of the river Keutas, which is not navigable. We left our boats on the banks
of the great river, and proceeded on foot to the fide of Lake Keutas.
The thirty-firft. Ordinarily they have a little boat on each lake to fetch the hay mowed
in the marfhes; on this lake we found two, and we made ule of one on feveral expedi-
tions to the foot of the mountain of Pullingi, We had much trouble to reach the
fummit ; it is very {teep, and at every {tep we made, we were up to the knees in mois,
The mountain itfelf is the higheft of all thofe on which we went, and incomparably the
moft peftered with gnats and flies. What we fuffered there from thefe infects is incon-
ceiveable : the Fins, our foldiers, of the regiment of Weftro-bothnia, men as courage-
ous as indefatigable, and infenfible to the intemperance, and inconveniencies of the
weather, were not able to hold up againft them; but were obliged to cover their
faces with pitch. The fervant given to us by the ambaflador had his head prodigioufly
fwelled by their ftinging.. M. Le Monnier, alfo had great difficulty in fupporting this
continual torment, and his health was very mnch hurt by it : a difguft of the food we
ate, did not alittle contribute to his illnefs. We found in the little village of Turtula
plenty of mutton, milk and fifth; but fcarcely were they ready, and withdrawn from
the fire, than they were quite black from the little flies which covered them. During
our three firft encampments we were obliged to go down the mountain to the river, to
obtain what water we wanted ; at Pullingi, we found a fountain towards the S. W., on
the declivity of the mountain. We found there alfo an abundance of.a fmall black fruit,
which they call blober ; the plant on which it grows is feven or eight inches high, and
the leaf fimilar to that of the myrtle; the fruit confifts of fmall black grains of the fize
of juniper berries: this fruit is met within France. All day Tuefday was very fine:
we difcerned very well the fignals of Avafaxa, Horrilakero, and Ketima; but other
fignals were requifite towards the north.
On the firft of Auguft, M. de Maupertuis had met with a ferjeant or fubaltern of the
regiment of Weitro-bothnia, at Avafaxa, a well informed active man ; he engaged him
to accompany us to Pullingi. The day after we arrived there, this officer, M. Helant,
and myfelf fet out towards the north to feek for fome mountain, whence we might dif-
cover at leaft Pullingi and Ketima, if we fhould not beable to diftinguifh as well Hor-
rilakero. We went to the moft northern houfes of Pello, and we got down to that of
Corten Niemi, by two in the afternoon, where we dined. We made every poflible fearch ;
for this no one could be better adapted than our officer: no inhabitant, not even the
matter of Corten Niemi, who did not want for intelligence, could give us any fatisfac-
tory information.
At laft after having examined all the neighbouring mountains which are low, we
found nothing to anfwer our purpofe better than the little mount Kittis: we eafily dit-
cerned Pullingi from it; but could not perceive either Ketima, or Horrilakero. We
ifaw other mountains tothe eaft of Pullingi; but one gave them one name, another a
different one, and were as little agreed about the roads which ledto them. We fhould
have gone farther towards the north, ifafter going up to the fummit of Kittis, wehad
perceived fome higher mountain more advantageous ; but none was vifivle, and the
direction of thé river fwerved greatly from that of the meridian, and cea‘ed to continue
fevourable to our operations. On the fecond we determined therefore on conttrudting
‘a fignal on the higheft part of Kittis; we caufed all the trecs to be felled which might
hinder the fight of it from Pullingi,and the mountains which we faw to the S. . As
we forefaw that our fignal would appear almoft overwhelmed by the furrcunding
country, in order to render it more vifible, we put in practice a fuggeftion of M. de
Maupertuis, it was to fplit the trees which we ufed for building the fignal, and to place the
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