1785
The abstract from the book by academician N.Ozeretskovsky
Travelling by Ladoga and Onego lakes
Part IV

Turning to the left after leaving Impilahti bay takes one into another bay by which one can reach Sumerie village that is known by beautiful red granite once used for building of St.Isaac Temple in St. Petersburg. After this village there is a small village Girvazhi near Suksva river on which there is a sawmill near the mouth. From this village I went by land to Russian township Kideli that is only about a league far from the sawmill by land but by water one hath to double into another bay at the tail of which Kideli standth. The place must be noticed due to garnets that are plentiful there. The stones are usually of small walnut size and children gather them on the fields while those are ploughed and stones are lifted to the surface. But the main deposit of garnets is in the soapstone layer call there kitelja kivi kallio that starts in the forest less than a mile from the village and spreads for a wide region close to the land's surface. In several places one can see small garnets just on the surface and there is no any difficulties to extract them, as soapstone is weak and easily broken by the big hammer. In one place there is an ancient trial pit where the ground at soapstone layer edge is dug out and the stone itself partly quarried. Kideli inhabitants say that the legend tellth that this pit was used in ancient times by Swedes. The garnets on the surface are usually small and cracked but inside the soapstone layer especially big solid and clear garnets that may be used for finger-rings are found sometimes. I saw in Serdobol a finger-ring with local garnet that had so clear dark-red color that the stone seemth to be almost fully transparent. The place deserveth the interest of naturalists and land treasures hunters.

On return from Kideli to my vessel continued I my travelling by the lake holding a bit off the uneven and bayish shore aiming to Pitkjaranta village. It was more than 4-league travel from Girvazhi from one isle to another. These isles are plentiful in this part of the lake, some from the bare rock some overgrown by Sedum acre grass some covered by fir-trees. This village is also called Dolgiy Bereg (Long beach) in Russian as after it a flat even and mostly straight beach goes round all the Eastern part of Ladoga Lake down to Neva River source. After Pitkjaranta the high rocky mountains that surround the lake from Keksholm to Dolgy Bereg end; there is also an end to bays that so often met in this mountainous region and rocky islands that flood the Northern part of the lake. From Pitkjaranta the shore and the lake itself taketh quite a different appearance.

It should be noted, that though Mr.Alopeus described some rocks of the mountain-ridge that goes along the lake, mineralogists can find there a lot of rocks that may be used for public benefit. Except for stones this land is also rich with wood and that is why there are sawmills almost on every river entering the lake. Though the plowing land is insufficient to feed all the population of this region, they could increase the crops by thorough work on land suitable for plowing, if they had sense enough and were not so sleepy from the laziness, from which they awake only by hunger, the feeling common to any animal. The nature in this land doeth not produce nothing eatable except for some berries, such as strawberries, bilberries and some other, it demandth hard work to deserve it's gifts but always rewardth those hard-working with earth fruits. The grain is born well here but not enough of it is sowed.

Close to Pitkjaranta (or the beginning of Dolgy Bereg a river Uksa enterth the lake and here the Impilahti township ends and begins the Salmi township, belonging to Counts Orlovs. The big island called Uksinsky (the name that comes from the name of Uksa river) is separated from the mainland by very narrow grassy strait that is called Lyuzi and it is only on a small boat that one may pass it. The Uksinsky Island goeth from the Northeast coast to the Southwest and at the other end meetth a smaller Lungalsky Island, which is separated from Uksinski by the deep Pellya strait. Then after the narrow Ulahta strait, both sides of which are covered by horsetail, there goeth the big Mysinsky (or otherwise Kurolatsky) island. The end of Mysinsky island cometh close to the mainland leaving a small strait called Peremya (with means overtake in Russian), as it is very shallow and do not allow big vessels to pass through. This three islands lying along the lake cut out of it a big pleso or salma (these are the local Russian and Finnish names for a big open part of the lake separated from the main basin by the chain of islands or shallows) in which there enter the rivers Uksa, Tserkovnaya, Tuloma and Minola. From this salma the big vessels may enter the lake only by the deepest Pellya strait, as other straits between the islands and the mainland are very shallow. To the lakeward side of Lungalsky Island, that borderth the Pellya strait together with Uksinsky Island, there layth the Manetsky island – the biggest in the lake – that also goeth along the mainland and closes between itself and Lungalsky island rather a wide strait that leads the vessels from Pellya to the open lake.

All these island are rather flat and even and are covered by forests, meadows and fields, which are plowed by the peasants living on those islands. These peasants, as all Salmi township counting 1784 men and 1686 women, belongs to the Counts Orlovs. There are the following villages on those islands:

• Aluksa and Uksalompea on Uksinsky counting 34 peasant households;
• Lungala on Lungalsky near Pellya Strait. I saw a cow breed on the island – middle sized, always hornless but so remarkable at sight;
• Peremya, Varbagazhy and Giva villages and also the Kuralaks myza (country-house)on Mysinsky (Kuralaksky). There are 50 peasant households on these two islands;
• there are Peldozhi village at the northern end of Manetsky island, Orihselga in the middle of it and Tyumbyazhi at the southern end. There are 117 peasant households in them. The peasants living on this island build good small vessels – boats and soimas (wide boats for two or three pairs of oaths).

The mainland to the South of these islands giveth place to the above mentioned salma that layth between the mainland and the islands. The Uksa River enters the salma and there is a village also called Uksa on the river. From this village the Salmi township begins and goeth on for l2 leagues by the lake's shore. Not far from the Uksa mouth the Tserkovnaya (Church) River enters the salma. On the right bank of its mouth there is a Russian church was only clergy is living and on the other side there are three farmsteads. All Salmi township inhabitants, numbering, as it was said, 3470 persons, are parishioners of this church. All are born in the Greek-Russian faith that they confess. A clever and sober priest from Tserkovnaya River serves as an example to the parishioners.

Nor more than 6 furlongs from Tserkovnaya River there is a mouth of Tuloma River. There are four sawmills near the mouth of the river. As mills supervisor Makovkin said they produce boards for more than 30 000 rubles every year. The timber for these mills is floated by Tuloma River. There is a waterfall some two leagues up the river and after them the river is rather wide and allows the galley-boats, coming for boards, get close to the mills. Such falls and rapids are common for all rivers entering Ladoga Lake. They are caused by uneven rocky surface they are passing. And though very fast the rivers cannot take along big stones and rocks standing on their way. The rock ridges and stone thicksets make these falls and rapids and from some of them the water fallth with a great force. Yet there are so brave timber floaters that use to pass down through these falls and rapids staying on the log with nothing on hand except for a boat hook and, in most cases, manage to keep afoot and afloat.