On (he Fein- Dee?- of the Laplanders. 357 



are not required for the rein-deer ; for it runs on the untrodden 

 snow, and when unyoked from the sledge, it scratches the 

 snow with its feet and refreshes itself with tlie moss, which 

 it is always able to discover on the mountains. 



The knowledge of locality is just as remarkable among the 

 Laplanders, as their power of recognising their rein-deer, and 

 arises from the same cause, viz., from the development of their 

 senses and perception, which is promoted by the necessity that 

 exists among them, as among all people in their natural state, 

 for relying on themselves for extrication from difficulties. Al- 

 though the Alps of Lapland, and more especially the plains, 

 offer but few objects which can fix attention, there is no eX' 

 ample of a Laplander losing himself on a journey ; if he has 

 once travelled over a tract, it becomes known to him for his 

 whole life. Fog alone, or drifting snow, can lead him into 

 error ; but he takes good care not to travel in such weather, 

 and Ids meteorological knowledge enables him to foresee when 

 anything of the kind is to be dreaded. His acuteness of vision 

 allows him to descry objects at very great distances, and thus 

 to pilot himself. His eyes, however, become weakened at an 

 early period, owing to the smoke in his tent, and partly to 

 the dazzling whiteness of the snow. When a Laplander is 

 caught, during a journey by night or a storm, he throws his 

 kaftan over his head, lies down on the snow, and covers him- 

 self with it, waiting patiently for a more favourable opportu- 

 nity of prosecuting his journey. 



The mode of living of the Laplanders is simple in the highest 

 degree, especially in summer ; for at that season they are sup- 

 ported almost exclusively on rein-deer milk, and a kind of sor- 

 rel, which they find in abundance in the mountain valleys, and 

 cook along with milk in an uncoated copper vessel, without, 

 on that account, suffering bad effects in the stomach. Fish 

 are A-ery welcome to the Laplanders, but are a dainty which 

 they do not often enjoy, as the Alpine Laplander occupies 

 himself but little with fishing. A favourite kind of food is 

 the stalk of the Angelica archangelica, here named siocke, 

 which the Laplander eats raw, after removing the outer fibres. 

 This plant is also much eaten by the Northmen, and is consi- 

 dered as a good preservative against scurvy. 



VOL. XXXIV. KO. IXVm. APRIL 1843. 2 A 



