Everyone
is afraid that Kianta, like all other remote parishes, is
an unpleasant place to live. I don't see what is the matter
with living there. Life seems perfectly good there to me.
My present assistant never complained about it. He was a
handy fellow, who made violins and did other woodcarving...
From Kianta I travelled up toward Kuusamo some 50 or 60
km and visited many houses along the way. I spent the night
in the main house of Kylmäsalmi. They showed me a boy who
had been deaf and dumb since childhood. I think he was 16
now and looked healthy and lively enough. He seems to be
given plenty of chores and to do them well.
...
In the evening, the woman of the house told me about the
bear hunting celebrations she went to in her youth. They
went on for days on end with beer and spirits. When a bear
had been killed, two men were assigned to go bring it and
two to receive it. The men exchanged the appropriate questions
and answers, first outside, then inside, and, finally, when
the skull was carried outside. The woman said a number of
times while telling her story that one day wasn't enough
for the festivities. But she could only remember a few poems,
for all speeches were delivered in verse.