Bogs, marshes
In the past, a part of Silminitsa forest under Toostõ village was called Üllimä bog. This forest was on such a soft and muddy land that not even proper pines grew there. When the ditches were dug in, the swamp dried up and a forest began to grow on it.
In the old days, this bog was so splashy that it didn't support people. There went no-one else, except the berry people.
Once, during berry picking season, a girl drowned in the bog. Since she was from the Üllimä family, Jaamaküla village, the bog was named Üllimä bog after her.
Ennemalt kutsuti üht osa Silminitsa metsast Toostõ küla all Üllimä soo. See mets oli nii mädal1 maal, et seal ei kasvanud õigeid mändegi. Kui kraavid sisse tõmmati, siis sai soo kuivaks ja seal peal hakkas mets kasvama.
Vanasti olnud see soo nii mäda, et ei ole õieti inimestki kandnud. Seal ei käinud ka kedagi muud, kui ainult marjulised. Sinna sohu olevat marjakorjamise ajal üks tütarlaps ära uppunud. Et tütarlaps olnud Jaamaküla Üllimä perest pärit, siis hakatud seda sood kutsuma Üllimä soo.
The current Pusu swamp used to be far away in Russia. It was awfully hot there, and the swamp king didn't like it. He raised the swamp under the sky and rowed it to the present place.
Praegune Pusu soo olnud vanasti kaugel Venemaal. Sääl olnud kole pala1. See ei meeldinud sookuningale. Ta tõst soo üles taeva alla ja sõudnud praegusse kohta.
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A large castle in the bog of the current Uimula farm – formerly Küünimäe – was home to some priests. When they fled during the Northern War, they spilled their wealth into the bog, where over time it sank into the ground.
This may also be partly true, because two old-fashioned beer jugs were found in the bog during cultivation.
Endise Küünimäe ja praeguse Uimula talu soos asunud suur loss, milles elanud preestrid. Need Põhjasõja ajal põgenedes kaudanud oma varandused soosse, kus nad aja jooksul maasse vajunud.
See võib olla ka osalt õige, sest soo harimisel leiti säält kaks vanaaegset õllekannu.
Hundimäe – "Wolf Hill" – farm is in Mudiste village, Sürgavere municipality in Viljandi County. Looking down from the hill, about 45 years ago lights were seen on the bog, as if someone was moving with a lantern. Now the part of the bog where the eyes were seen glowing has been turned into a field, and no one has seen the ghost's eyes since. The person who saw the fire was Anu Laos (now Loog), a daughter of the family living in Hundimäe farm.
The lights can still be seen in Kakerdaja bog. It is a large bog with its bottomless pits. In the middle of the swamp is a lake that keeps growing. If you look at the bog, you can see "ghost eyes", sometimes disappearing and then flashing again in other places.
Viljandimaal Sürgavere vallas Mudiste külas Hundimäe talus mäest alla vaadates nähti umbes 45 aastat tagasi tulesid soo pääl, nagu liiguks keegi laternaga. Nüüd on tehtud sootükk, kus nähti silmi hiilgamas, põlluks, ja pääle selle pole enam keegi näinud tondisilmi. Tule nägija oli Hundimäe talus elav peretütar, nimega Anu Laos (nüüdse nimega Anu Loog).
Tulesid võib veel näha Kakerdaja rabas. See on suur raba oma põhjatute laugastega. Keset raba on järv, mis järjest kokku kasvab. Kui rabale vaadades, võib näha "tondisilmi", vahel ära kadudes ja uuesti teistest vilkuma hakates.
The lights that flash in the bog in the dark have attracted the senses of the viewers for a long time and certainly added to the mystery of the bog. "M. Koger has seen Will-o'-the-wisps burning in several places and thinks that the flame has risen to a height of 40-50 cm [---] In the Völla marsh there is a boggy line, soft, watery" (Loodusvaatleja 1934, 2: 44).
Georg Tamm, son of the family of Sarapuu farm in the settlement of Võlla, has seen Will-o'-the-wisps on the Võlla bog before Christmas. He is around 20 years old, a sober and practical young man. The weather was cloudy. The Will-o'-the-wisps shone with a bluish-green glow" (ibid: 45).
Soos pimedal ajal vilkuvad tulukesed on ammust aega köitnud nägijate meeli ja kindlasti lisanud soole salapära. „M. Koger on näinud sootulukesi leegitsevat mitmel kohal ja arvab leegi kuni 40–50 sm kõrgusele tõusnud olevat [---] Võlla rabas on sellel kohal soine joon, pehme, vesine” (Loodusvaatleja 1934, 2: 44).
“Sootulukesi Võlla rabal on enne jõulu veel näinud Võlla asunduse Sarapuu talu perepoeg Georg Tamm, ligi 20. a. v., kaine ja asjalik noormees. Ilm oli pilves. Sootulukesi paistnud sinakas-roheka helgiga” (Samas: 45).