Österbotten

It is not the Kemi river that separates Västerbotten from Österbotten but a small river to the west.

They catch powan in a strange way here. Like the salmon, the powan swims against the current and they therefore only fish for them at large falls that the powan cannot ascend. The fishermen have a neat net with which they walk out half-naked in the most powerful rapids, often with a rope around them held by a man who stays on the bank to prevent them being carried away by the current. Thus they wade out and fish.

Seals are caught in many ways either by shooting or by netting. The nets are made of hemp and are 3 to 4 fathoms wide with cords as thick as a goose quill. Each mesh is 2 span wide when extended. The nets have oval floats along the top edge but do not have stone-weights along the bottom. 4 or 5 nets are often tied together and on the end of them there is a large stone attached with basketwork to secure the net.

The seals cause the fishermen a good deal of damage both because of the fish they eat and because of the damage to the nets. Seal-nets are set out at a spot frequented by seals and, when a seal comes to it, he twists and turns until he is entangled, most often being trapped by his foot.

On the sandy hill by the church there was an abundance of ‘Gr. spica triticea marit.’ [Lyme-grass] growing with leaves quite different from other varieties and quite specific. I dug up some plants – they were as tall as rye – for it occurred to me that this might be a grass worth sowing on sandy heaths if one could only learn how to cultivate it; which should not be too difficult.

Advantages: 1. sterile sandy heaths on which nothing else grows ought to be cultivated 2. the root is perennial, unlike other grasses, and it would thus not need annual sowing. The root might perhaps also be of some use in times of hardship.

Daniel Cajanus, the tall Finn in Stockholm, was born in Österbotten where his father was a curate. When he was born he was no bigger than anyone else and was actually rather weak, especially in the chest, until he was 12 to 15.2

I was told that they often hear the rolling of thunder in the mountains in winter. Cold weather in the Torneå mountains comes from the south and mild weather from the north; this is because of the sea.

The Lapp’s compasses are:
1. Large pine trees that have many branches on the south side and none on the north.
2. Ant-hills that have grass and ‘Vaccinium’ [blaeberry etc.] on the south side and nothing on the north.
3. The aspen-tree, whose bark is rough on the north side and smooth on the south.
4. Dry pine trees in bogs, for ‘Usnea nigra’ [beard moss] grows more abundantly on the north side of them.

By using these signs they are able to make their journeys in the wild forest. Do likewise!

When they shoot a wild reindeer in the summer, they lay it in a cold spring or water-source and take from it a piece at a time.

The limestone that is burnt in Kemi, Torneå and other places along the coast is of a strange composition.

14th. The silver ore from HIERTAT has been assayed at the College of Mines and contains 40% lead and 2% to 4% silver.

It rained hard.

15th. I found ‘Spongia lacustris Newtonii’ [aquatic fungus] by the ferry to Torneå.3

16th. I found ‘Artemisia’ [wormwood] with a very strange flower.4