408 THP: voyage of the VEGA. [chap. 



his yoimg wife, and another young pair, the latter, if I under- 

 stood theui right, being on a visit, and properly having their 

 home at Irgunnuk. 



" Round the tent, which was considerably smaller than those we 

 daily saw at the coast, lay a number of sledges piled up on one 

 another. These sleds^es differed from the common docr-sleds^es 

 in being considerably larger and wider in the gauge. The 

 runners were clumsy and axed from large wood. 



" Our proposal to purchase reindeer was immediately declined, 

 although we offered in exchange bread, tobacco, rum, and even 

 guns. As a reason for this refusal they stated that the reindeer 

 at this season of the year are too lean to be slaughtered. We 

 saw about fifty reindeer pasturing on an eminence at a distance 

 of several thousand feet from us. 



" In the afternoon Kjellman and I were invited into the tent, 

 where we passed an hour in their sleeping chamber. On our 

 entrance the lamp, which was filled with seal oil, was lighted ; 

 a sort of moss (sphagnum) was used as a wick. Our hostess 

 endeavoured to make our stay in the tent as agreeable 

 as possible ; she rolled together reindeer skins for pillows 

 and made ready for us a place where, stretched at full length, 

 we might enjoy much needed repose. In the outer tent 

 the other women prepared supper, which consisted of boiled 

 seal's-flesh. We received a friendly invitation to share their 

 meal, but as we had no taste for seal's-flesh, we declined their 

 offer under the pretext that we had just had dinner. They 

 took their meal lying with the body in the inner tent, but with 

 the head under the reindeer-skin curtain in the outer, where the 

 food w^as. After the meal was partaken of, their heads were 

 drawn within the curtain; our host divested himself of all his 

 clothes, the trousers excepted, which were allowed to remain. 

 Our hostess let her fesk fall down from her shoulders, so that the 

 whole upper part of the body thus became bare. The reindeer- 

 skin boots were taken off, and turned outside in ; they were 

 carefully dried and hung up in the roof over the lamp to dry 

 during the night. We treated the women to some sugar, which, 

 in consequence of their want of acquaintance with it, they at 

 first examined with a certain caution, finding afterwards that it 

 tasted exceeding well. After the meal our host appeared to 

 become sleepy ; we accordingly said good-night, and went to our 

 own tent, where it was quite otherwise than warm, the 

 temperature during the night being about — 11° C. 



" After for the most part a sleepless night, we rose at half-past 

 six next morning. Wlien we came out of the tent we saw all 

 the reindeer advancing in a compact troop. At the head was an 

 old reindeer with large horns, that went forward to his master, 

 who had in the meantime gone to meet the herd, and bade him 



