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OUTHIER’S JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO THE NORTH. 309
them is fingular, and the Laplanders and Fins made ufe of them with wonderful {kill.
1 fhall fpeak more at large of them at the twenty-feventh of December.
Monday, the third, was fine, and we made other obfervations with the fextant. ‘The
cold increafed of a fudden fo much, that on Tuefday morning, the fourth, the thermo-
meter of fpirits of wine was at 18°, and that of mercury at 22°, below the freezing
point. During the night, and all day on Wednefday, the fifth, it fmowed. Thurfday
morning, the fixth, we took off the telefcope from the foot of the fextant ; we put it
into its box, and caufed ic to be carried to Mattila, and brought back again into the
obfervatory. ‘The good people were very much {urprifed at this ceremony; they looked
upon it in fome meafure as myf{terious: fome of them afked M. Helant how he came
not to attend the proceffion of the French? We replaced the fextant on its pedettal :
that night we made an obfervation which gave the fame elevation to the ftar, and
fhewed that the fextant had not fuffered by all the motion given it in the porterage :
by a fecond obfervation, made on Saturday, we found {till the fame height for the ftar.
Wednefday evening, the feventh, M. Brunius arrived, and was to go back on Friday
morning: the rods for the meafure of the bafe were made, as well as the fupports ;
but we knew not how to act. Were we to meafure the bafe now, or defer it until the
{pring ? A great deal of {now had fallen already, and frequently it fnowed ; fometimes
even the weather was mild, and it rained, as was the-cafe all this day ; all this rendered
the work of meafurement very difficult, and very labovious. In putting it off till the
{pring, we were {ure of having much longer days; and had a right to expect that the
furface of the fnow, a little melted by the rays of the fun, and afterwards hardened by
the froft at night, would make a cru{t hard enough for us to walk upon, and perform
our work with eafe., Many citizens of Vorneo advifed us to put off the meafurement
till the fpring, when the days would be longer, and the cold lefs fevere. M. Brunius
and fome others gave different advice ; they faid fome confiderable thaw might take
place fooner than expected, and we run the rifk of lofing our meafurements.
After confulting among ourfelves, Saturday, the eighth, and Sunday, the ninth, it
was refolved that M. Clairaut, M. Celfius, and myfelf, {hould go to the {pot to examine
if the operation was then practicable. We took two fledges, and all three departed,
with one fervant, on Monday afternoon, the tenth: we pafled by Mattila and Neder
Wojakala, thence we crofled the river to go to change horfes at Ofwer Wojakala ; from
which place we proceeded continually among woods as far as Kukula, on the eaftern
bank of the river, becaufe the ice was not pafiable in the cataracts ; they were very
rugged there, with large chafms in them in feveral places. From Kukula we croffed
the river again to go to change horfes at Lactilu: we left it at half paft five o’clock,
and arrived at three quarters paft fix at Corpikyla, at the houfe of ‘Tepane Piping, where
we fupped, flept, and took frefh hories on ‘lueiday morning, the eleventh. We paffed
on {till among woods, on the weltern fide of the river, and pafled over a fmall lake in
the foreft of Taipala. We arrived at Witza Niemi, whence we went down upon the
ice of the river: we pafled before Pekila, near to the church of Hieta Niemi, and from
there to Coifwunkyla; we changed horfes there, and after leaving Niemifby, we fol-
lowed very near the line of our bafe, as far as Mickolen Sari, whence we proceeded to
M. Brunius’s, where we arrived at noon.
We hada long conference with him on the project we had formed of meafuring our
bafe immediately ; he ftrongly advifed it, notwith{tanding the difficulties ftarted by
M. Celfius.
Monday it was very cold, and {till more fo on Tuefday. The laft night while we
were at Corpikyla, the wood with which the houfesare built cracked with a loud noife,
as
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