New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-26
from our pipes. There wss hne aurora sehIns
us-a low arch of white sre, with streamers "a
dating outw ard shifting and dancing along its
-. nfoloot kaeora raarhaf kar-

| dis, half unconscious from the cold. Our morse
ran into the wrong place, and We lost sight OF the
baggage sled, our only guide in the darkness We
could no longer trust the animals instinct but hsd
to depend on our own, which is perhaps truer. AT
least, have often found in myself traces Of that
blind unreasoning faculty which guides the bee and
the bird and have not been deceived in trusting to
il. We found tho inn, and carried cloud of frozen
yapOr into the kitchen with US, as We opened the
door. The graceful wreaths of cesmoke rolled
before our feet as before those of ascending saints
in the cid pictures but ourselves, hair from head TO
foot, except two pairs of eyes, which looked out
through icy loop-holes, resembled the reverse of
saints / told the landlord in Finnish that We
wanted to seep-"md tarri HEkH d." He pointed
10 bed in the corner out Of which rose sick girl
Of about seventeen, very pale, and evidently suffer
ing. They placed some benches near the fire, re-
moved the bedding, and disposed her as comfortably
as the place permitted. We got some hot milk and
hard bread, threw some reindeer skins upon the
vacant truck, and lay down, but not to sleep much.
The room was SO close and warm, and the dozen
persons in it alternately snoring and restless that
our rest was continually disturbed. We, therefore,
rose early and aroused the lazy natives
The cold was still at AZ below zero. The roads
were so much better, however, that we descended
again 10 our own runners, and our lively horses
trotted rapidly down the Torneas. The signs of set
lemeut and comparative civilization which now in
creased with every mile were really cheering. Part
of our way lay through the Swedish woods and over
the intervening mOrasses, where the hrs were hung
with weepers of black green moss, and stood solid
and silent in their nantes of snow, lighted with
magnificent golden flush at sunrise. The morning
was icyclesr and dazzling There was not lhe least
warmth in the suns rays, but it was pleasant to see
him with white face once more We could still
stare at him without winking, but the reflection
from the jeweled snow panied our eyes. The cold
was so keen that we were obliged to keep cur faces
buried between our caps and boas, leaving only the
smallest possible vacancy for the eyes. This was
| exceedingly disagreeable account of the moist
ure from the breath which kept the squirrel tails
constantly wet and sticky. Nevertheless, the cold
penetrated through the little aperture my eyes and
| forehead were like marble, the eyeballs like Jumps
Of ice, sending sharp pang of cold backward into
the brain. l realized distinctly how statue must
| feel.
Beyond Peo, where we stopped to " fire up
| our road lay mostly on the Russian side. While
| crossing the Torneaa at sunset we met drove of
seventy OF eighty reindeer, in charge of a dozen
| Lapps, who were bringing cargo from Haparanda
We were obliged to turn off the road and wait until
they had passed. The landlord at JuOxeng, who
was quite drunk, hailed us with shout aud
! laugh, and began talking about Kautokeno.
We had some difficulty in getting rid of his CONVEX
sation and bis opportunities for ms to stay all night
This was the place where they tried to make us
leave, on the way up. | replied to the landlords
torrent of Finnish with some choice specimens of
Kentucky oratory, which seemed to make but lit
TIE suppression on him. He gave us excellent
horses, however and We sped away again, by the
light of another brilliant auroral arch
Our long exposure to the extreme cold, coupled
as it was with lack of rest and nOurishment now
began to tell upon us. Our temperature fell 50 low
that we again had recourse to the rum, which
alone, | verify believe, prevented US from freezing
bodily. One is locked in the iron embrace Of the
Polar air, until the very life seems TO be squeezed
out of him. | hudded myself in my pOesk,
worked my fingers and toes buried my nose in the
damp, frozen fur, and labOred like Hercules to
keep my self awake and aliye-but almost in vain
BREASTED and | kept watch over each other or at
tempted it, for about the only consciousness either
Of us had was that of the peril of falling asleep.
We talked of anything and everything, sang
thumped each other, but the very next min
ute would catch ourselves falling over the
side of the sled. thousand dreams wor-
ricd my brain and mixed themselves with
my talk; and the absurdities thus created helped
to arouse me. Speaking of seeing some wolves in
the woods of California, | gravey continued: 81
took out my sword, sharpened it on the grind
stone and dared him to come On"-when punch
in the ribs stopped me. Another time, while talk
ing of hippopotam in the White Nile, said: IF
you want any skins, you must go to the Hudson's
Bay Company. They have depot of them on
VaDcouyer's Island" Braisted gave me much
trouble, by assuring me in the most natural, wide
awake voice that he was not in the least sleepy,
when the reins had dropped from bis hands and his
head rocked on his shoulder. / could never be
certain whether he was asleep orawake. Our only
plan was, not to let the conversation flag minute
At TorakankOrwa We changed horses without
delay and hurried on to Matarengi. On turning
out of the road to avoid hay-sled, we were turned
completely over. There was no fun in this at such
a time. fell head-foremost into deep snow, get
ting a lump in my right eye, which completely
blinded NE for time. Ny forehead, eyebrows, and
the bridge Of my nose were insufierably painful.
On reaching Matarengi found my nose frozen
through, and considerably swollen. The people
were in bed, but We went into the kitchen where